about Longboat Key

Longboat Key consists of an island that separates Sarasota Bay from the open Gulf of Mexico. It borders Sarasota to the southeast, Bradenton Beach to the northwest, and is located about 80 km south of Tampa.
Known for tasteful luxury and well-kept surroundings, Longboat Key is rich in gorgeous beaches, wildlife and upscale amenities. Longboat Key is one of the quietest barrier islands on the Gulf Coast, making it suitable for vacationers and residents seeking tranquility. For pampered tastes, among other sophisticated residential areas, the exclusive Longboat Key Club with its golf courses, fine restaurants, beachfront condominiums, bayfront condominiums and sophisticated single-family homes offers everything your heart desires.

John Ringling bought many properties on the offshore islands. He owned everything he could see from his house, from St. Armands Key (Lido Key) to southern Longboat Key. His plan was to connect the mainland to the islands with a series of bridges so that automobile traffic could conveniently reach the luxury hotel he planned on Longboat Key. Eventually, a bridge to Lido Key was also built, but Ringling’s Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel was never completed and construction of the bridge to Longboat Key was abandoned when the stock market collapsed in 1929.