The Hazzard Fountain

This fountain is located in front of the Municipal Auditorium. In a city brochure describing the Municipal Auditorium, the fountain is described as follows.

In 1940, Maine shoe manufacturer R. P. Hazzard gifted the city of Sarasota with a lighted fountain designed by Frank Martin (son

of Auditorium architect, Thomas Reed Martin).

Built by renowned artisan Louis Larsen, the fountain was the auditorium's "crown jewel."

Widening of US 41 (Tamiami Trail) eventually

forced the fountain's removal. After years in storage, it graced the Ringling Museum entrance until changes there banished it to storeroom obscurity once again.

The only Art Deco-style fountain of its kind in public ownership in the U. S. today, the Hazzard Fountain was rescued by the city, restored and returned to its original site in front of the Auditorium in 1995.