Braden Castle Park, Bradenton, FL
**Braden Castle Park Historic District** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 83001428, date listed 5/9/1983
Roughly bounded by the Manatee and Braden Rivers, Ponce DeLeon St. and Pelot Ave.
Bradenton, FL (Manatee County)
The Braden Castle Park Historic District, located on the west bank of the Braden River at its confluence with the Manatee River in Bradenton, Florida, is a remarkably complete assemblage of small frame cottages, trailer sites and larger communual buildings designed to serve as seasonal campground by the Camping Tourist of America. Laid out in 1924 on approximately 34 acres, the park was platted to include approximately 200 lots for individual cottages in a crescent-shaped strip between a common waterfront reserve on the east and a man-made lagoon and open park area on the west. The common reserve contains the park's communual buildings, recreational facilities and sites for approximately 90 trailers. The ruins of the 1850 Braden House, ("Braden Castle"), located near the north center of the district in a casually landscaped, form the focal point of the district. In general, the district is characterized by a diminutive scale and an extreme stylistic uniformity owing to the park's small lots and rapid development of the area.
When the acreage surrounding the ruin was purchased by the Camping Tourists of America in 1924, it was a overgrown orange grove. Work was begun shortly thereafter to transform the area into a permanent seasonal campground. Development was largely completed by 1929 when approximately 180 of the cottages and all of the public buildings were erected. The diminutive scale of the most cottages was a result of the purposely small lots (37' x 37') which in turn left large areas of the park as scenic or recreational areas. (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg...
Braden Castle Park, Bradenton, FL
**Braden Castle Park Historic District** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 83001428, date listed 5/9/1983
Roughly bounded by the Manatee and Braden Rivers, Ponce DeLeon St. and Pelot Ave.
Bradenton, FL (Manatee County)
The Braden Castle Park Historic District, located on the west bank of the Braden River at its confluence with the Manatee River in Bradenton, Florida, is a remarkably complete assemblage of small frame cottages, trailer sites and larger communual buildings designed to serve as seasonal campground by the Camping Tourist of America. Laid out in 1924 on approximately 34 acres, the park was platted to include approximately 200 lots for individual cottages in a crescent-shaped strip between a common waterfront reserve on the east and a man-made lagoon and open park area on the west. The common reserve contains the park's communual buildings, recreational facilities and sites for approximately 90 trailers. The ruins of the 1850 Braden House, ("Braden Castle"), located near the north center of the district in a casually landscaped, form the focal point of the district. In general, the district is characterized by a diminutive scale and an extreme stylistic uniformity owing to the park's small lots and rapid development of the area.
When the acreage surrounding the ruin was purchased by the Camping Tourists of America in 1924, it was a overgrown orange grove. Work was begun shortly thereafter to transform the area into a permanent seasonal campground. Development was largely completed by 1929 when approximately 180 of the cottages and all of the public buildings were erected. The diminutive scale of the most cottages was a result of the purposely small lots (37' x 37') which in turn left large areas of the park as scenic or recreational areas. (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg...