A walk through time

If given the go-ahead, Clifford Smith would probably take his current project — a compilation of historic photographs of Sarasota dating back to the late 1800s — and open exhibits all around town.

He might turn the hundreds of photographs he’s spent the past five years collecting into a coffee table book — or four. But, for now, he’s selected his favorites from the Sarasota County History Center for a display, which he’s hoping will become a museum-quality exhibit called, “Walk Through Time.”

The exhibit would feature 30 black-and-white images highlighting Sarasota from 1887 to 1960 to be housed in the Sarasota City Commission Chambers.

“At this point, it is an idea,” says Smith, the city’s senior planner. “As you walk forward, you’ll be going through time — three-quarters of a century — and it’s bringing you from the very beginning of Sarasota history as an entity all the way through to 1960. There’s a lot of main infrastructure in place: bridges to islands, highways to city. When you look at the last image, it gives you a view of the whole bayfront and city.”

Historic preservation is just one of Smith’s many fortes. If you walk through the hallways surrounding his office in the City Hall Annex, you’ll find that the walls are lined with old Sarasota photographs — his idea.
“I did it a couple years ago and found that a lot of times when people have questions about a property, if I go to the historic image, I can see what’s changed because I have documentation in the photographs telling me what was there at one point,” Smith says. “Visitors from other jurisdictions say they wish they had that depth of history where they are.”

Wanting to increase community awareness of the city’s cultural history outside of his workplace, Smith thought the exhibit would be a perfect fit. He worked with local historian Jeff LaHurd and Sherry Svekis, chairwoman of the city of Sarasota’s Historic Preservation Board, and presented the project via PowerPoint to the board May 8.

The board made a motion to support the project, proposing a budget of $10,000. Board member Greg Hall recommended Smith go before the Downtown Improvement District and request a buy-in partnership for the project. Smith asked for $250, but was pleasantly surprised when DID board member Mark Kauffmann told him, “Nobody asks for that. Let’s support the project with $1,000.”

Smith will go before the City Commission Monday, June 18, for its approval.

“The Commission Chambers is the most high profile room for the city of Sarasota,” Smith says. “Where we are today is from decisions made by commissioners throughout time, and the decisions made will continue to affect what will become our history tomorrow.”

The 30 photos selected for the exhibit are all in digital format. If approved, the files will be sent out to have any imperfections fixed. Once that work is completed, the photos will be printed on 16-inch-by-20-inch archival quality paper, double matted and framed with anti-glare glass. Brass tags containing information about the image will be inserted into each frame. The centerpiece, which will be placed in the middle of the exhibit (around the 1920s), will include the original plan for the town of Sarasota from 1886 and a panoramic view of the downtown area from Sept. 15, 1926.

“The final image is from 1960 of the historic city of Sarasota,” Smith says. “The more you look, the more you say, ‘Wow.’ It’s very recognizable to anyone here today as Sarasota. There’s so much of that historic fabric that remains.”