Burns Court Historic District

Burns Court is a historic district in downtown Sarasota featuring fifteen Mediterranean Revival bungalows and nine original garage buildings arranged along a U-shaped pedestrian passageway. The structures form a defined residential community with a clear layout.

Developer Owen Burns and architect Thomas Reed Martin built this residential community between 1924 and 1925. The project established a new architectural direction for Sarasota and demonstrated early ideas about cooperative living.

The district hosts the International Chalk Festival and is home to the Sarasota Film Society, art galleries, restaurants, and independent shops that define the character of the place. These venues and businesses shape how people gather and spend time here.

The area is easy to navigate on foot with ample parking nearby and good connections to downtown transportation options. The best time to explore is during daytime hours when galleries and shops are open.

The district is one of Florida's earliest cooperative residential communities, where Burns placed his own residence among the Mediterranean buildings he developed. This choice was unusual for a developer to live within the neighborhood they created.