Gene Leedy

A couple of months back, my friend Forest and I took a field trip to Winter Haven, about an hours drive from Orlando. A typical response from someone who lives in Orlando would be, Why would you go to Winter Haven?

Well, Winter Haven is quaint, but that's not why we went there. It is the former spring training site for the Red Sox, then the Indians. The Indians went to Arizona, the Red Sox are training in the Ft. Myers area. Plus it was January, still a little early for spring training.

We were invited by Nikole Helmers to stay the night. She knew that we are architectural buffs, nerds. She owns one of the Gene Leedy houses. It's directly across the street from his own residence. Forest and I were anxious to drink Scotch with one of the founders of the Sarasota School Of Architecture.

Leedy along with Paul Rudolph, Ralph Twitchell, Mark Hampton and Victor Lundy were the founders of the Sarasota School. Forest received his masters from Yale. Paul Rudolph taught there and designed the Yale Architectural School.

The Sarasota School is a mecca for mid-century modernism in Florida. A bad economy can do more for historic preservation than good intentions that lack the funding during boom times. Hopefully these gems will remain.

Nikole took us on a tour, pointing out the simplicity of the construction, the use of plywood, cement blocks and other materials that can be bought at Home Depot.

If you want to take a self guided tour, check out the Leedy site.