Anna Maria City Pier ... Then and Now

Anna Maria City Pier ... Then and Now. More Than Just A Fishing Pier!. , In 1911, with dreams of founding..."the place destined to be the greatest year-round resort in Florida," the Anna Maria Beach Company built the Anna Maria City Dock (later called Pier)., The dock, extending 776 feet into the waters of Tampa Bay, would allow steamer boats to dock, bringing potential buyers of lots and cottages to this newly-formed real estate development., The principle partners in the Anna Maria Beach Company, formed in 1910, were George Wilhelm (Will) Bean and Charles Roser. Bean, whose father had homesteaded the north end of Anna Maria Key in 1893, had inherited the land. Roser, a wealthy Ohio cookie maker who had developed the Fig Newton cookie and sold the recipe to the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) for one million dollars, had the money., Their marketing brochure speaks for itself:, (captions) , Brought by the steamers, tourists from Tampa, St. Petersburg and points along the Manatee River flocked to beautiful Anna Maria Beach., The Tampa Board of Trade arrived in full force on August 22, 1912 to check out this island's potential for future business., Fishing on the pier was, and still is, a very popular pass time for both locals and visitors alike. "Everyone always caught something when they came to the Pier.", The Trice home, named "Lotus Cottage," was built by Capt. Mitch Davis in the very early days of the pier. It appears on the 1913 plat. The "Lotus Cottage" was 79 feet long and had four bedrooms, each had its own bathroom with running water. The living room was 16 feet by 54 feet and had a pool table and piano., Pictured to the left is the Trice family at "Lotus Cottage" in 1914. Lotus Cottage was their summer home. Mrs. Trice would arrive at the beginning of summer with the family and household staff. Mr. Trice would spend weekends, traveling by steamer from Tampa., The Steamers. , To attract the rich people from Tampa and St. Petersburg, Bean needed the pier in deep water so that Tampa Bay area steamers could make daily stops. Once built, tourists came by the hundreds to play and bathe on the pristine Gulf beaches that Anna Maria afforded., To impress visitors from the steamers, Bean dressed his 10-year-old daughter in a black-and-white bathing costume and put here [sic] in a little red boat that cruised around the incoming steamers, greeting the day trippers. At the foot of the pier, Bean stocked a gift shop with shells, sea creatures, and Island mementoes. Bean also persuaded his sister, Mary, to stand on the dock in gypsy garb and tell fortunes to the new arrivals., (captions) , "Showing Steamer Favorite landing with 650 people for a day's outing at Anna Maria Beach" (From the back of the above postcard. Will Bean had numerous postcards printed to advertise his resort.), The "glory years" for the steamers plying the Gulf Coast waters were the 1880s through the end of World War I., From Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Manatee River Points, the steamers brought supplies and, most importantly for the budding new resort, excursionists., In addition to their daily routes, most steamers had Sunday excursions to beautiful Anna Maria Beach bringing day-trippers for picknicking, swimming, fishing, and dancing at the pavilion. Music and good food were part of the boat trip., The "Favorite" . The "Manatee" Steamer. . The "Margaret" . The "Pokanoket". , Gen. J.B. Carr , "Many people from Tampa and St. Petersburg availed themselves of the perfect day to spend all day at Anna Maria last Sunday. The General J.B. Carr was nicely loaded with passengers from these towns who were in a happy vein and grasping enjoyment from every little occurrence. Music for the day was provided by the Tampa Bar Hotel Orchestra with Mr. Guirila at the piano. The boat landed at Anna Maria.", Manatee River Journal, May 9, 1912 , Pokanoket built in 1894. "The Pokanoket brought people over from Bradentown, Manatee and other river points. Mrs. Williams of Port Tampa arrived Saturday to visit her daughter Mrs. G.W. [illegible]", Manatee River Journal, June 20, 1912 , "The regular Thursday excursion was well patronized this week as usual. The Pokanoket and several smaller craft being well loaded with the youth and beauty of the Manatee section. Anna Maria seems to be a favorite resort of the towns along the river as each week brings a large crowd for an afternoon outing.", Manatee River Journal, June 27, 1912 , "The dock, bathhouse, and hotel were busy places on the 4th as the Island was visited by not less than 600 people." , Manatee River Journal, July 11, 1912, Downturn of Fortunes. , In 1915 the Anna Maria Beach Company's dreams began to crumble. The onset of the war in Europe, and a downturn in economic conditions nation-wide, dampened the enthusiasm of the investors. House and lot sales in Anna Maria Beach nose dived. The hotel dining room had so few guests on some weekends that wagon loads of spoiled food had to be hauled away and buried., Bean had a falling out with Roser, his principle bank roller. In 1917 Roser sued Bean and foreclosed the mortgage he held. The Anna Maria Beach Company holdings transferred from one real estate development company to another, until in 1921 a vicious hurricane and the construction of the Cortez Bridge on the south end of the Island combined to finish off the resort., In 1928 the pier was given to the recently-incorporated (1923) City of Anna Maria as satisfaction for back taxes., (captions) , Excursionists came by the hundreds. Railings ran the length of the dock to keep the well-dressed visitors from falling into the water. It is not known when the railings were removed., A 1926 photo of the Pier showing both "Lotus Cottage" (left) and "Belle Haven" (right), both built by Capt. Mitch Davis. "Belle Haven" started as an ice house., Pier in late '20s after both "Lotus Cottage" and "Belle Haven" had collapsed into the bay due to the pilings rotting away. They didn't take care of them so the worms ate them!, For the City of Anna Maria, maintenance was always a problem and the Works Progress Administration (part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal) was used during the '30s to make necessary repairs. The Pier has sentimental value for long-term visitors and residents, but it has been a constant headache for city commissions over the years. Patching it and replacing pilings have taken a sizable percentage of the city's budget and it has been closed to the public for safety reasons over the years.