the great divide

One of the great advantages I have had in my career as a producer, director and marketing consultant, is that I have had the opportunity to travel near and far. I love to be in new places, meeting new people, eat food I haven’t experienced before and see all the sites to see. Of course, business travel usually means airports, taxis and rarely having time to see much more than the hotel, office building, conference center or train station.

It’s a blessing when I have time to explore, as I did this morning in Bradenton, Florida. I’m here tending to my vacation property on Anna Maria Island (one of the best beaches in America) and while the contractors are doing their thing I am ensconced at the Howard Johnson Motel on route 41. Route 41, for those of you not familiar with the area, is a little like Elizabeth, New Jersey – one of the ugliest stretches of road anywhere, with car dealer after strip mall after Hooters after tattoo parlor after used car lot, ad nauseum. As I had time to kill this morning and I had brought my bicycle with me, I took off on a small adventure, looking to see what was on the other side of the parking lots. What I discovered only made me love this country even more.

As I said, this is not a pretty part of town. so I turned off at the first side street and headed down past a few small businesses and then some very uncharming houses. After a while I found myself in the middle of Trailer Estates. You can look it up, Trailer Estates is actually on the map. It’s a small trailer park community with it’s own Town Hall, own fire department, it’s own town beach. As you travel around Florida you see lots and lots of trailer parks. Even in places you might not expect them. Sometimes a trailer park will be butt up against a neighborhood of high end homes. Trailer Estates is across the bay from some very exclusive sites but surrounded by some real ugliness. The residents look to be mostly older, probably retirees and a very blue collar mix. What I really liked was how clean the area was and how almost every home had some distinctive touch, whether it was a sculpture or a landscaping touch. The main drag is named American Way and the other streets are all named for the 50 states. New York Avenue wasn’t exactly sophisticated but it had its charm.

I extended my ride south toward Sarasota and stumbled across Seagate, an elegant estate from another era.  The estate was built by the entrepreneur Powel Crosley. Crosley was an inovator and brought to the marketplace a range of products that became American staples, such as the first ‘compact car,’ refrigerators with shelves in the doors (the Shelvador), TVs, radios, phonographs, disc brakes and an early version of the fax machine. He bought the Cincinati Reds and made them a successful franchise bringing the innovation of night baseball to America. I remember when Reds games were still played at Crosley Field.

Crosley owned what is to this day the most powerful radio station ever in the US, WLW Cincinnati (perhaps the inspiration for WKRP?). It was there where he introduced the concept of soap operas.

The estate has been restored and is now owned by Manatee County. It is available for private affairs and in addition to weddings and corporate events they have theatrical presentations like Shakespeare in the garden and readings of Edgar Allan Poe. Though it was empty today and closed to the public, I made my way in for a closer look and the staff was kind enough to allow me a short tour of the house. What a great spot for a party.

Ironic that this great estate, along with the Ringling Mansion, just down the road, is only a short walk or ride from Trailer Estates. It’s as if the Great Divide ran right through Bradenton, Florida. There was more to see and tomorrow I intend to see a bit more, but Trailer Estates and the Powel Crosley Mansion will be hard to beat.