The School Board of Sarasota County has approved a plan to retain and restore a large section of the Paul Rudolph-designed concrete canopy walkway at Sarasota High School. The agreement between the School Board and the Sarasota Architectural Foundation (SAF) was approved April 18. The Sarasota County School District held community engagement meetings in June 2012 to seek public input about changes to the campus of Sarasota High School. As a result, the School Board and district staff agreed to renovate Rudolph’s 1960 additions to the campus, designated as Buildings 4 and 5. In March 2015, the Sarasota Architectural Foundation reached an agreement with Ringling College of Art and Design to retain a section of the Rudolph canopy walkway originally scheduled for demolition as part of the repurposing of the historic SHS building on Tamiami Trail. The Collegiate Gothic building will house the Sarasota Museum of Art when it opens to the public. The new School Board-SAF agreement identifies the portion of the Rudolph canopy walkway that remains and specifies the conditions for its renovation. As part of the agreement about the canopy walkway, the Sarasota Architectural Foundation has agreed to fund the additional renovation costs, estimated to be $34,000. Renovations will take place as part of the final phase of the SHS campus renovations, scheduled to be completed in August 2017. The plan also calls for SAF to install a plaque on one of the canopy pillars, designating the architectural significance of the canopy walkway.

Sarasota County Schools