Frances Carlton Condominium
Historically known as the “Frances-Carlton Apartments“
1221 N. Palm Avenue – Sarasota, Florida
ABOVE: The ORIGINAL views of the Frances-Carlton Apartments from the 1920’s
BELOW: Front Page article in the Sarasota Times of May 1, 1924 announcing the construction of the Frances-Carlton Apartments, to be competed by December 1
BELOW: October 30, 1938 advertisement in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for the Frances Carlton Apartments (with incorrect spelling of Frances).
BELOW: June 8, 1952 article announcing that the Frances Carlton has been converted from regular, furnished apartments to the first co-op apartment building in Florida. The building with all its furniture was sold by owner Naomi Wedrig to the new owners for $145,000. (In 1985, it was converted back to regular apartments under a single owner, and then in February 2001 to condominiums.)
BELOW: Two-page sales brochure for the Frances Carlton Co-Operative Apartments, 1952.
The following information is from the original application supporting the addition of the Frances Carlton to the National Register of Historic Places on March 22, 1984:
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The Frances-Carlton Apartments, located at 1221-1227 North Palm Avenue, were built for Carlton Olin Teate, according to the plans of Ormiston colonist and architect, Alex Browning and Francis James, architect of Tampa, Florida. The contractors responsible for the construction of the building were Carmen & Carmen. The site plan took advantage of Sarasota Bay views and breezes. In massing, the four apartment blocks connected by stair hyphens provided added exposure and additional fenestration — particularly through the use of conservatory wings located at the north and south elevations. Up-to-the-minute modern conveniences were offered in each of the 21 furnished apartments. The selection of Alex Browning as the co-architect of record is noteworthy. Browning arrived in 1885 as one of the original Scots or Ormiston colonists, having served as an apprentice architect in an Edinburgh office. Alex Browning provided the plans for the first architect-designed house in Sarasota in 1886. The Mediterranean Revival Style apartments are representative of the third phase of development (1913-1929) of the City of Sarasota architecture.
TEXT SUPPORTING SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The Frances-Carlton Apartments, located at 1221-1227 North Palm Avenue, were built for Carlton Olin Teate, according to the designs of Ormiston colonist and architect, Alex Browning and Francis James, architect, of Tampa, Florida. The contractors responsible for the construction of the building were Carmen & Carmen. By mid-August of 1924, construction had progressed to the basement level, the work having commenced two weeks prior to the 21st of August. Construction was estimated to be completed by 12/1/24. The plan was unique in the City of Sarasota, consisting of four blocks, the center flanks of each block connected by a stair hyphen. Although the main elevation was located at the south elevation, equal design emphasis was placed on the north elevation with conservatory wings which mirror the handling of the south or main elevation.
The site planning of the Frances-Carlton Apartments was certainly well-executed, providing 21 apartments which took advantage of a view across Gulfstream Avenue to the Sarasota Bay. The use of conservatory or porch projections with casement openings located at the north and south elevations provided not only an uninterrupted view but also generous openings affording cross-ventilation. Every possible convenience was offered including icebox openings on the exterior of the kitchen so that the ice could be delivered from the hallway, the promise of a telephone connection and speaking tubes to be located in each apartment, garbage receptacles and the novel inclusion of a roof garden.
The Frances-Carlton Apartments also had the added advantage of being located to the west of the Woman’s Club. The picturesque massing of the roofline with its observatory, mirador and gabled roof/structure was innovative in its picturesque massing in the year 1924. The apartments were advertised in Hotels and Apartments in Sarasota, the pamphlet prepared by Roger V. Flory. With each of the 21 apartments equipped with a “Kelvinator electric refrigeration,” the fully furnished apartments were also provided with silver and linens.
The spelling of the name Frances varies from primary source to primary source, from Francis to Frances. Although the current condominium apartment is known as “Frances, one would speculate that the original spelling was “Francis” after the first name of the Tampa architect primarily responsible for the plans, Francis James, and the Carlton obviously having been supplied by the name Carlton Olin Teate, Junior or Senior. C. O. Teate, Jr., and Sr., were in the real estate investment business with an office at 320 Main Street by 1926. Both the Junior and Senior Teate lived in the Frances-Carlton Apartments in the year 1926.
The selection of Alex Browning as one of the architects of the new apartment complex was significant. In the advertising section of the 1924 City Directory, Alex Browning is the only architect listed; his office was located at 530 Ninth Street. [Thomas Reed Martin’s Studios were listed under the landscape architecture division.] Alex Browning, who was one of the original Ormiston colonists, provided the first structure in Sarasota built according to architect’s plans for the company manager of the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company, Ltd., in 1886. According to Grismer, Browning had studied architecture as an apprentice in the office of one James Lindsay of Edinburgh. Arriving with the Ormiston colonists in 1885, he moved to Tampa in 1890 where he is credited with having been the assistant architect on the Tampa Bay Hotel which was completed in 1891. Returning to the Bradenton and Ellenton areas during the next five-year period, he returned to Sarasota in 1919 and drew the plans for the Frances-Carlton Apartments. His son, Hugh Browning III is credited as being the supervising contractor on the Frances- Carlton Apartments. Alex Browning was also responsible for the authorship of what is known as the Browning Manuscript, an unpublished memoir devoted to the documentation of the early days of the Ormiston Colony in Sarasota.
The Frances-Carlton Apartments are representative of the third phase of the development of the City of Sarasota’s architecture, from 1913-1929. In fact, during the first eight months of the year 1924, the period overlapping the construction of the Frances-Carlton Apartments, Sarasota was included as tenth of 17 cities in value of building permits issued from the period of January to August, 1924. This was a remarkable rise, the middle of 1923 having been $450,000 for the corresponding time period. By 1924 the estimate was for $1,242,965.38
Frances-Carlton Apartments today are in condominium ownership and the property is remarkably intact, the building having been maintained and respected. A particular note of commendation is the retention of the wood casement, multi-paned and double hung sash original windows. The Frances-Carlton Apartments appear today as they did upon completion in 1924.
BELOW: 1983 photos of the Frances-Carlton Apartments as part of its submission for addition to the National Register of Historic Places.
SUMMARY OF PRESENT AND ORIGINAL PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
NOTE: The term “present physical appearance” as used here refers to the Frances Carlton in 1984, when this application was submitted. The descriptions below are all from that application as it was submitted at that time.
The Frances-Carlton Apartments located at 1221-1227 North Palm Avenue were built beginning in 1924 as furnished, rental apartments. The complex consists of blocks of rectangular plan and one block of wedge-shaped plan, the four blocks being three stories in height are flat-roofed and connected by recessed stair hyphens at the interior courts located between each block. The entrance is located at the south elevation; vehicular and pedestrian access is provided from North Palm Avenue. Glass and screened conservatory openings are provided at the north and south elevations— the conservatory porch projections are three-stories in height and are topped by pantiled-hipped-roof parapets. A variety of roof structures, including a domed observatory and a mirador, adds a picturesque dimension to the skyline. The original fenestration is intact—remarkable multi-paned and multi-headed casement wood windows provide light and ventilation for the conservatory piazzas or sun parlors located at the north and south elevations. The Mediterranean Revival Style apartments were originally characterized by the use of a dark-hued stucco tine with trim, string course moldings and projecting window sill moldings picked out in white. The stucco facades are currently white. Originally intended as furnished rental units, the Frances-Carlton Apartments are currently under condominium ownership.
TEXT SUPPORTING SUMMARY OF PRESENT AND ORIGINAL PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
NOTE: The term “present physical appearance” as used here refers to the Frances Carlton in 1984, when this application was submitted. The descriptions below are all from that application as it was submitted at that time.
The Frances-Carlton Apartments located at 1221-1227 N. Palm Avenue, are four apartment blocks. Each block is three stories in height and connected at each interior flank by stairwell hyphens. The announcement of the proposed apartment complex appeared in the Sarasota Times of May 1, 1924. The apartments, which were to be called the Frances-Carlton, evidently received the nomenclature from a combination of “Frances,” the first name of co-architect, Francis James of Tampa, and Carlton, in honor of the owner’s son, Carlton Olin Teate, Jr.
The construction announcement described the proposed building in detail, specifying the construction materials to be hollow tile with a stucco finish in “the Spanish Moresque style with tile roof and extended eaves very much resembling the ancient hostelry of the Pyrenees along the Spanish border of southern Frances. The structure will contain 21 complete apartments of four and six rooms respectively, and each and every apartment completely finished with the purpose of affording the tenant personal and individual service.” The press release also specified that the site on Palm Avenue would afford views of the Sarasota Bay with vehicular access provided by “one driveway entrance opening on Palm Avenue and extending the entire distance through to Seventh Street.”[Seventh Street is now First Street.] The vehicular entrance would provide access to the two main entrances located at the central open courts and the lobby area of the first floor. The original plan also called for the innovative addition of 30 x 40 feet roof garden which was located at what was referred to as “Frances-Carlton Apartment Galley No. 2.”
In plan, the westernmost block was wedge-shaped as opposed to the long rectangular plan of the three eastern blocks. The wedge-shaped block reflects the lot configuration adjacent to the DeCanizares residence at 1215 N. Palm Avenue.
The buildings stand today very much as originally envisioned. The three-story, hipped-roof glass and screened conservatory porch projections located at both the north and south elevations of the Frances-Carlton Apartments, as well as the picturesque roofline which included a shallow domed observatory set within square piers, a bellcote or mirador which straddles blocks 2 and 3, and the gabled block projection which straddles blocks 3 and 4, as well as the application of a pantiled roof surface on the conservatory projections, contribute to the original appellation of certainly Spanish, but the “Moresque” remains a mystery. The accurate architectural term is “Hispano-Moresque” architecture during the Alhambra. The all-inclusive stylistic title of Mediterranean Revival best describes the Frances-Carlton Apartments. The stucco surface of the apartment exterior is coated in white, but the original dark-hued stucco finish color is visible in certain areas, such as the recessed stair and hyphen connecting the first and second blocks.
The fenestration patterns at the conservatory areas located at both the north and south elevations of each of the four apartment blocks provide design texture to the plain stuccoed facades. The wood casement openings at the ground and second floor levels of the conservatory projections of blocks 2, 3, and 4 are arranged in sets of three windows. The three-bay division of the ground floor conservatory projections are arranged in sets of three windows. The three-bay division of the ground floor conservatory projection consists of a wide round-headed two-leaved, multi-paned casement window, flanked by two narrow round-arched multi-light windows, the set of three being visually connected by a continuous projecting sill.
At the second story conservatory level, a set of three two-leaved wood casement windows is topped by a round-arched transom. The second story window opening is divided by a paneled recess and connected by a continuous windowsill. At the third-story conservatory level, a set of four windows is provided, visually linked by a continuous sill and a shaped molded lintel enframement. The pattern of fenestration used on block one is identical to window types present at blocks 2-4, but differs in the number of window openings—the smaller wedge-shaped block has fewer window openings. The recessed planes of the hyphens which connect each four apartment blocks consist of narrow, round-arched window openings.
Each east and west flank of the conservatory block is pierced by a single window echoing the fenestration of the triple and quadruple window sets of the north and south elevations. North and south elevation conservatory blocks are identical, remarkably well maintained and intact. The rectangular blocks of apartments located behind each ornamental conservatory projection are illuminated by 1/1 double hung sashed window openings and decorated by a band or string course molding located between the second and third stories.
The roofs of each block are flat and surrounded by a high flat parapet. The picturesque roof structures, including an observatory with four squat corner buttresses, a mini-bellcote or mirador and a gabled roof structure provide added visual interest to the three flat-roofed rectangular-planned blocks, and one wedge-shaped block. Vehicular and pedestrian entrances are marked by round-arched masonry openings. The central vehicular opening which provided a thoroughfare through to First Street is currently framed by an ornamental iron two-leaved gate with sigmoid scrolls and the words, “Frances-Carlton Apartments,” picked out in red paint. To the east and west of the central vehicular entrance are smaller round arched openings with tiled shed roof hoods which mark the south or main elevation pedestrian axis.
Each of the 21 apartments was furnished. The layout consisted of: a living room equipped with a “Pullman diner booth, giving both the library and breakfast room effect when attired for either. Further included in the living room furnishing is a Murphy bed opening out of a spacious closet. A spacious closet that is adaptable to use as a dressing room, a clothes closet and bathroom, having as its front when lighted large mirror windows adding much to the convenience and comfy appearance of the room.” The bedrooms, depending on whether it was a four or six room apartment, were to be furnished with twin beds, appropriate rugs and window treatment. The kitchen offered all the 1920’s modern conveniences, including pantry cupboard, “garbage receptacles,” and “icebox opening on the exterior in order that it may be iced from the hallway, laundry tub with cover convertible drainboard for sink, ironing board and properly lighted and ventilated.” A screened sun parlor and conservatory was also provided with each apartment; the sun parlor was to double as “conservatory piazza or breakfast room.”
Alterations: Based on a comparison with the attached photograph of the south elevation which appeared in the Sarasota Visitor’s Guide of 1928, the following alterations have occurred: The stucco facade was formerly a dark-hued stucco tint with trim, string course moldings, and projecting sills picked put in white. The observatory located at the hyphen connecting blocks 1 and 2 was formerly lit by casement windows — the area reads now as a blind arcade. The mirador located between blocks two and three was formerly open — it is understandably louvered now. At the second story of each of the conservatory projections located at the south elevation, each round-headed window was formerly separated by a column, set in a niche — the columns have been removed, the niches remain. A pair of cartouches formerly flanked the vehicular entrance, at the spandrel area of the arched opening.
Use: The Frances-Carlton Apartments were built as furnished rental units. Today the complex is under condominium ownership.
The information in the sections above is from the original application supporting the addition of the Frances Carlton to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
BELOW: Sarasota Herald-Tribune article of May 8, 1988 about the 1986 renovation of the Frances Carlton Apartments. After the co-op building was bought from all the owners in June 1984 by William D. Carraway for $960,000, its ownership was subsequently transferred to Jeff and Sue Schoenbaum of Tampa. It was given historical renovation in 1986, along with enhancements such as the addition of a swimming pool. The original plan had been to sell the individual units to high-income investors seeking tax shelters, but because of legal changes in 1986 that eliminated the historic renovation tax credit for very high-income people, this was no longer appealing to those investors. The potential deals were cancelled, the Frances Carlton again became an apartment building, and it was offered for sale as such for $1,900,000.
BELOW: Marketing materials from 1988 for the sale of the historically renovated Frances Carlton Apartments, asking $1,900,000 for the entire building.
WG Mills, Inc. in Sarasota subsequently owned the Frances Carlton Apartments, then sold the building to GMN Corp. of Sarasota in June 1994 for $754,800. After further renovation, GMN converted the Frances Carlton to condominiums in February 2001, and then sold the units to individual owners over the next several years.
Information from the Sarasota History Alive! website about the history of the Frances Carlton: http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/buildings/frances-carlton-apartments/
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