Celery Field s Forever...
Photos by Jeff Humbarger & Tonya Bramlage
The Beatles once sang, “Living is easy
with eyes closed” in their iconic song
“Strawberry Fields Forever,” but rest
assured that is not the case at the Celery
Fields in Sarasota. There is so much to see
that you will want to pack a picnic and make
a day out of taking it all in.
Whenever you make plans to visit and
enjoy this beautiful nature area, be sure
to take binoculars with you. On one side
of the Celery Fields park there is a 75-foot
observation hill with benches at the top.
From there, you can capture a spectacular
view of the surrounding cityscape of
Sarasota (and at most times of the year, bird
species galore). This particular vista point
was designed specifi cally with optimal
park observation in mind. This famous “hill
of Sarasota” is situated in the middle of
72 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • November/December • 2021
By Tonya Bramlage
what once was a fi eld where celery was
commercially grown, hence the name.
As natural history studies of the area
have shown, there once was a lake where
the Celery Fields are located. Mammoths
and mastodons once roamed the area,
and some of the earliest Native Americans
settled there millions of years later. The
prehistoric lake fi lled with water naturally
and it created a large sawgrass wetland
system. The land was drained in the late
1880s and early 1900s for agricultural
use and development. Around 1920 the
Sarasota-Venice Company known as the
Palmer Interests (originally started by
Mrs. Potter Palmer), began extending the
vegetable growing area from Gulf Gate
to the present-day location of the Celery
Fields.