The Leedy Lifetime Works Tour

Gene Leedy, a founding father of the "Sarastoa School" of  Architecture, chose to make Winter Haven his home in 1954 when commissioned that year to build the Sparrow House.  It was his first work in the quiet Polk County town. Though the scope of his work is globally recognized, Winter Haven boasts more Gene Leedy buildings that any other location. 

It was in the late 1940s and 50s in Sarasota, that Leedy, along with a group of fresh architects, developed a regional style adapted to Florida's heat, humidity, natural resources, and flat topography, with the aim to complement the land climate.  Leedy's simplistic trademark pre-stressed T-beam concrete ceilings and dramatic cantilevered balconies are complimented by Florida's landscape - his designs bring the outdoors in. 

Leedy has earned multiple awards, including the architectural profession's most prestigious award, a Lifetime Design Achievement Award from the Florida Association of Architects, as well as inducted into the College of Fellows of American Institute of Architects. 

                

The Leedy buildings in Winter Haven are each a jewel in the crown of what may be the largest repository of Sarastoa School designs in the world.  As a result, Winter Haven has already become a critical stop on any tour of Sarasota School of Architecture. 

To celebrate these treasures, Main Street Winter Haven, in partnership with the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission produced a self-guided tour of 28 Leedy buildings with a keyed map, an accompanying 60 minute audio tour, and a website.

We now invite you to take the self-guided tour and/or to visit the website www.geneleedy.com. 

(pictures courtesy of Potthast Studio)