Editing Longboat Key, Florida (section)

=== 1920s ===

In 1921, the key lost most of its agricultural land and buildings during a hurricane. That same year, the island was split between two counties, Sarasota and Manatee.

Starting in 1923, John Ringling purchased a large amount of land on Longboat Key.<ref name=":0" /> In February 1926, Ringling entered a contract to develop a luxury hotel named the Ritz-Carlton on the south side of the island. The hotel was to have 200+ rooms, docking facilities and a railroad leading to it to bring guests there. The hotel began construction in March 1926, with a completion date before December 15, 1926 as specified in the contract. An 18-hole golf course would be built next to the hotel as well. Ringling found himself preoccupied with other financial interests, and during that year the Florida land boom began to slow down as well. In November he ordered construction to be stopped on the hotel, and later claimed he would resume construction, but never did.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Mark D.|title=Ringling's Ritz-Carlton {{!}} Sarasota History Alive!|url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/ringling-s-ritz-carlton|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Sarasota History Alive|language=en-US}}</ref>

There were no roads that led to the key until 1929, when a bridge was built to [[St. Armands Key|St. Armands]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Farming on Longboat till 1921|url = http://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/farming-on-longboat-till-1921.html|website = longboat key history.com|access-date = February 24, 2016|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304125621/http://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/farming-on-longboat-till-1921.html|archive-date = March 4, 2016}}</ref> A bridge across Longboat Pass was built in April 1929 and would exist until March 1932.