City Plan

In 1926 world-renowned city planner and landscape architect John Nolen designed a master plan for the city of Venice Florida. Venice is one of few cities in Florida that either has such a master plan or has largely stayed true to it.

The street grid is exceptional with many parks and trees, my favorite drive is from downtown to the beach. Downtown the street has a wonderful median which is lined with palm trees, more towards the beach this widens to a full park space with trails, trees, benches, and landmarks.

For a few decades mid century not as much attention was paid to Northern Italian Renaissance architectural style that the plan called for resulting in a bit of an architectural mishmash. More recently however there has been far more respect for the plan including the remolding of several buildings to respect the original plan. All new construction must conform to it. This is helping to make this already attractive community even better.

John Nolen's plan is one of the major reasons I like Venice so much, it distinguishes Venice from the suburban sprawl that characterizes so much of Florida, giving the city a lot of charm and a great sense of place.

This photo shows the plan set in stone in a new city park which is at the gateway to the island. This park is a great improvement to this site. You can be sure that more photos of it will follow soon.