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CONTACT:
Dean Dixon
Historical Resources
(941) 749-1800 ext. 4075
October 2003 Article
Introduction: The Manatee
County Historical Records Library is a wealth
of information about our local past. Documents from
as early as the 1850's describe the life and times
of Manatee County residents and weave many an interesting
tale. Each month, we will post a new story for you
based on documents in our library. We invite all of
you to come to the library, located
at 1405 4th Avenue West, to see these documents
for yourself and to touch, feel and experience our
heritage.
The Imhoff Mystery
Paradise Court
in the mid-to-late 1920s
When the Bradenton Fire Department burned down an abandoned
home on Riverside Drive, they uncovered a mystery that set
local historians on a hunt through Manatee's history. Under
the house was a strange foundation. Poured in sections that
formed two semi circles and several small chambers, the foundation
was too thick to be for an ordinary structure and the concrete
had no shell content using gravel instead, meaning it must
have been brought in from somewhere else. The Manatee Herald-Tribune
ran an article about the strange foundation, but no one came
forward with any answers. It was left to local historians
to use Manatee's historical archives to look for the answer
to this mystery.
The tax and deed records showed that the house was owned by
the Spear family and had been for decades. But the foundation
was too complicated to be for a house and must have been poured
sometime prior to the house being built. The tax records show
that the house was built in 1925. Going back in time, the
records show that the area once was the home of Paradise Court,
a resort that had 12 apartments and 12 cottages on the south
side of the street from the foundation. It had been a popular
vacation site during the late twenties where visitors could
enjoy the river as well as shuffleboard and other activities.
On the north side of the street was a pier extending 1,500
feet into the river and a dance pavilion. The home that the
Spears owned was built on the site where the foundation is
and it was briefly thought that the foundation was made for
the dance floor. But why would the foundation need different
chambers, why would it need to be so thick, why would they
use concrete that was obviously not made locally? The foundation
had to have a specific purpose and dancing just didn't seem
to fit. The search would have to continue.
The next step was to look further back at the old insurance
maps. These maps, called Sanborn maps, show where businesses
are located during any particular year. Looking at the 1926
map there is a circle on the spot of the foundation with the
word Imhoff on it. The circle meant that it was a tank of
some kind. Being next to a pier, it was thought that it might
be a fuel tank. The city pier in Bradenton had two such tanks
on it. It was also thought that it could be a cistern for
catching rainwater. It was discovered in the city directories
that the town of Manatee had a maintenance shop of some kind
listed at that address, which added to the mystery. The deed
and plat records also show that that section of river was
fill, that is, it was man made. The town of Manatee owned
the land and quit claimed it to W.F. Tallant in 1923. It became
apparent that if it could be found out what Talent wanted
the land for the historians would have the answer for their
architectural mystery.
To find out what the relationship between Talent and the town
of Manatee was, the historians began to look at the minutes
of the council of the old town of Manatee. Finding Talents
name mentioned numerous times, the town council often purchased
from his hardware store. But there were regular purchases
of chemicals for the city sewage, as well as payments to Tallant
under the heading of sewage. It was looking more and more
like the answer was a sewage treatment facility, but there
was one more question that had to be answered. What was Imhoff?
For this, the historians did a simple search on the Internet
for the word Imhoff. There they found that there was such
a thing as an Imhoff tank and it was made for small communities
to treat their sewage. The historians also found a diagram
of how the tank worked and the bottom end of the tank matched
perfectly to the foundation that sat on Riverside Drive. Mystery
solved!
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