The City of Anna Maria Historical Park

The City of Anna Maria Historical Park. The Historical Society of Anna Maria Island Museum, also, Belle Haven Cottage, also, The City Jail. , The Historical Society of Anna Maria Island Museum , Built in 1920 as an ice house on 402 Pine Avenue, the building was subsequently used as city hall, the police department, a firehouse and the Turtle House before the Society renovated it in 1992 to hold memorabilia from the turn of the century through the present., Belle Haven Cottage , Built in 1920 over the water to the right of what today is the City Pier Restaurant. The cottage fell into Tampa Bay just a mere six years later due to diseased pilings. Purchased by Lyman Christy in 1926, it was barged around the North point to Palmetto Avenue on the Gulf side of Anna Maria where it remained for over eighty years. The Society, along with the three island cities, raised the money to have it moved to the site in 2001 when the land sold to new owners. It is a fine example of the Florida of yesteryear surrounded by the lush indigenous flora of an early barrier island., The City Jail , Built in 1927 the need for a jail arose because there was a tavern-dance hall on the Gulf side of Pine Avenue. Those who frequented the hall would get drunk and cause a disturbance. Mitch Davis, the first mayor of Anna Maria, saw the need to “house” the offenders in a jail with bars but no windows. The mosquitos had quite a sobering effect on them. A fire in the 1940’s burned out the wooden portion of the structure. The rest was left as a tourist attraction thanks to the insight of Harry Varley, founder of The Islander Newspaper.