Florida Island in the Sun...
Anna Maria Island is 7 Miles of Sugar White Sandy Gulf Coast Serving as a Natural Barrier Between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay.
Located on the west coast of Florida, Anna Maria Island is the barrier between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay with white sand beaches stretching for 7 miles along the Gulf coastline. There is a canal network throughout the island that allows an interesting selection of water-front lifestyles, plus an island trolley system for transportation throughout the three individually unique island cities.
Anna Maria Island supports a very special ecology and "Old Florida" philosphy. The laid-back lifestyle allows time to step back from the hectic energies and just walk on the beach, or enjoy a picnic supper at sunset.
Anna Maria City
Anna Maria City, to the north, is basically residental and home to a handful of coffeehouses, a few restaurants, and ice cream shops, some of which serve not only coffee or ice cream, but other snacks, breakfasts and lunches. There's Dips Ice Cream & Candy Store, which offers more than 150 varieties of candy, as well as cappuccino, homemade Italian ices, and of course, ice cream.
Then there is the Bay View Plaza on the bay-side of the island, with boutiques and Mama Lo's Coffee Shop.
At Mama Lo's by the Sea the coffee is awesome it's true, and it's sold by the pound, but in fact, Mama Lo's may be best known for its ice cream. They offer nearly 40 flavors of McClains homemade ice cream made right in Sarasota. Also offered are sundaes, smoothies, sandwiches, pastries and bagels.
Everything, including breakfast items, is served all day at Mama Lo's. You can order at the counter, grab a magazine from the rack and eat by a window with a view of the bay. There is even a toy train running along a track set up above the café, and maps of the World and United States with the words "Where are you from?" chalk full of red pins pushed in by visiting customers.
The city post office is here at the Bay View Plaza as well, a long time gathering place for island residents. Few are ready to give up the sense of community for home mail delivery.
Located at 9908 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria, Sandy's Rich Coffee serves gourmet coffee and espresso drinks, baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, bagels, muffins, Panini style sandwiches, salads, desserts, fruit and cheese.
Real estate business is conducted in the back of Sandy's, while the front has a real coffeehouse atmosphere and framed photographs of Anna Maria sunsets and wildlife hanging on the walls.
When visiting Anna Maria City, one can shop for antiques jewelry and clothing, or enjoy the restaurants, coffee and sandwich shops, and the Island Players Theater.
Holmes Beach - Business Center of Anna Maria Island
Holmes Beach, is the "business" center of the island. The island library, the banks and island grocery store are all in Holmes Beach along with a wide variety of shops and restaurants.
Manatee County Beach greets new visitors to the island, where the Beach Cafe serves their guests on their beach patio right on the Gulf. One of the two bridges to the island, Manatee Bridge, brings the traveler into Holmes Beach at the end of SR 64, which ends on the island.
Holmes Beach is a homogenous mixture of residential single-family homes, multi-family condominium developments and businesses existing in harmony with the landscape as well as the Island’s small-town heritage.
Village of Bradenton Beach
Bradenton Beach is a charming and vibrant community of 1,500 located at the southern end of Anna Maria Island. The Island is located at the southern entrance to Tampa Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.
Brandenton Beach shares Anna Maria Island with her sister cities of Holmes Beach and Anna Maria City. Access to Anna Maria Island can be achieved from the mainland (Bradenton) via bridges on Cortez Road or Manatee Avenue or from Longboat Key to the south via the bridge over Longboat Pass.
The Brandenton Beach community has had a recent face-lift with historic Bridge Street, the focal point for interesting shopping. There are regular Bridge Street special events such as "Movie Night", "Mardi Gras", Art Shows, Car Shows, etc. - Its a fun place to be.
You can pamper yourself at a day spa as well as enjoy fine dining and nightly entertainment. Flanking Bridge Street is Coquina Beach; a 96- acre Australian pine shaded oasis of beauty. Toward the southern most point, on the bay side, are sandy paths lined with lush foliage leading to Sarasota Bay for viewing many species of water and shore birds.
George Emerson Bean
George Emerson Bean, a world traveler from Connecticut, became the first permanent resident on the Island and homesteaded what is now the City of Anna Maria. He built his home near the present location of the Rod and Reel Pier in 1893 and homesteaded 140 acres, from the North Point (Bean Point) to what is now Magnolia Avenue, where the Island Community Center is located.
His son, George W. Bean, became the first land developer and with John Roser formed the Anna Maria Beach Company. Streets and sidewalks were laid out; homes, businesses and a water system were built.
A Brief History of Anna Maria Island
Anna Maria's history begins in 1513 with a man and a tale familiar to us all - Ponce de Leon's quest for the Fountain of Youth. It was during that quest that he discovered Florida itself on Easter Sunday, naming it "Pascua de Florida" which means "Feast of Flowers", the Spanish name for this holy day.
His quest continued as he journeyed up the Gulf Coast of Florida nearly five hundred years ago and named our small island Ana-Maria-Cay to honor the Virgin Mary and her mother Anne.
Fierce Timucan Indians prevented him from colonizing the area so he returned to his base in Puerto Rico where he was shot with an arrow in 1521 and later died.
In 1539, the Spaniards returned. Hernando De Soto landed just across the bay from Anna Maria at Shaw's Point in Bradenton and started a settlement.
After several hundred years of relative quite, George Emerson Bean became the island’s first permanent resident In 1892. The tip of the island at the far right hand side is still known as Bean Point. Surrounded by the lush sub-tropical growth and island birds, you feel the peace and security of times gone by.
Once you've visited our island, you'll want to come back.
Local real estate agents frown on "homesteading" these days but there are still terrific opportunities to purchase land on our island.
Mr. Bean passed away in 1898 but just after the turn of the century his son, George Wilhelm Bean, teamed up with a financier named Charles Roser. Together, they formed the Anna Maria Beach Company, laid out the streets and started developing the town of Anna Maria.
Roser, it turns out, is not only the father of Anna Maria; he's also known as the inventor of the Fig Newton. The Kennedy Biscuit Company of Massachusetts began producing the cookies in 1891. Kennedy Biscuit had a tradition of naming cookies and crackers after surrounding towns and you still see "Beacon Hill" and "Shrewsbury" brands on store shelves.
In 1898, Kennedy Biscuit joined a national network of bakeries to form the National Biscuit Company, later known as Nabisco. While rumor has it that Roser made his fortune selling the "Fig Newton recipe" to Kennedy Biscuit Works, it is likely that his financial windfall was more closely related to the stock of Kennedy Biscuit, especially after it became Nabisco.
Roser's original clapboard home, built in 1912, still stands next to the Siam Garden Resort.
In 1911, the company built a 678-foot long pier at the end of Pine Avenue enabling ships full of visitors and supplies to dock. Despite numerous hurricanes, the pier still stands at the end of our block, the favorite rendezvous for tourists, fishermen and locals alike.
In 1913, Charles Roser built our island's first church; the Roser Memorial Community Church. Its oil lit cross served as a beacon for fishermen returning from the Gulf of Mexico.
Starting in 1921 visitors could finally drive onto the island using a rickety wooden bridge that connected at the fishing village of Cortez. It also came in handy for mackerel fishing, a delicacy that has largely been replaced with fresh Florida grouper, stone crab claws and smoked mullet.
Progress came to this little island a decade after WWII, and in 1957, the county opened the modern drawbridges on Manatee and Cortez Roads. The island of Anna Maria remains charming, dignified and unspoiled even to this day. If anything, perhaps it's a little quieter now than it was 50 or even 80 years ago!
Go the Complete History of Florida's Anna Maria Island to learn more about how this quaint Gulf Coast Florida retreat came to be what it is today!
While staying on the island, leave your car and ride the "FREE trolleys" that travel daily from Coquina Beach to Anna Maria Pier; with service begining at 6:00a.m. til 10:30p.m.; arriving every 20-30 minutes.
Definitely a paradise worth visiting...............For a lifetime!
Annual average temperature...............74.8 degrees Fahrenheit
Annual average rainfall..................55.67 inches
