Coakley Railroad Park

Venice, Florida; The train depot under the Venice Avenue bridge is one of the last remaining pieces of railroad history in Sarasota County. The newly restored Venice Train Depot and the Coakley Railroad Park offer visitors a look back at the railroad that brought residents into the region.

Seaboard Airline Railroad decided to extend their route to Venice in 1910 by an order by Mrs. Potter Palmer, who demanded the railroad be extended further south as a stipulation to her purchase of land in Sarasota County. The railroad agreed and the rails were extended to a mark in which the real estate broker designated. The line was opened in 1911 and tickets were sold out of a freight car.

Venice prior to the extension of the railway was a small town with only about 50 families residing here at the time. The city had no schools, churches, stores or paved roads in the area. Travel through the area was done by mules or boat. It wasn’t until the railway was opened that Venice started to grow.

The popularity of the railroad increased and in 1926 the need for a passenger terminal was addressed. The Venice Train Depot was completed in 1927. The deport was created in Italian Renaissance style and contained 400 feet of platform space.

The railroad helped transform Venice from a small fishing village to a town. In 1960, the railway was a determining factor for Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus opening their winter headquarters in the City.

Train service to Venice was discontinued in 1971 and the station fell into disrepair. Sarasota County purchased the property in 1999 and work to restore the depot began. Using grants from multiple sources and funding from local governments, the $2.3 million dollar refurbishment was completed and the depot was reopened to the public.

Today the depot is part of the Rollins Coakley Railroad Park. The depot has a museum documenting the history of the railroad in Venice along with meeting space. In the exterior grounds of the park, there is a caboose available to tour along with walking paths and a statue of Gunther Gebel-Williams, famed circus performer. The train tracks were removed and replaced with a walking trail as part of the county’s rails to trails project.

For more photos, visit by Venice Depot photo page.

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