Editing Longboat Key, Florida (section)

=== 1930s and 1940s ===

Starting in 1935, a former Chicago insurance agent named Gordon Whitney started buying up property to construct a series of cottages on the northern end of the island. The area was given the name of Whitney Beach. Whitney intended to have the cottages serve as part of a resort.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Whitney Beach|url=https://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/whitney-beach.html|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Longboat Key History|language=en}}</ref>

In 1936, for the first time, telephone service was brought to the southern part of the island.<ref name=":0" />

In 1937, [[John Ringling North]], the head of the estate of John Ringling, who had died in 1936, announced that Martin Sweeney had an interest in finishing the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Sweeney said the hotel would have two 18 hole golf courses, an airport, a club and facilities for fishing, along with 235 rooms when completed. However, these plans would never transpire and the hotel remained in its then-current state.<ref name=":2" />

By 1939 or 1940, telephone service was brought to the North End.<ref name=":0" /> Longboat Key got its first newspaper, ''Gulf Gale'', in 1941; it would run until 1944.<ref name=":0" />

In [[World War II]], Longboat Key had a bombing range. In 1942, it was used by [[Martin B-26 Marauder|B-26]] planes, and from 1943 to 1945 by [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk|P-40]] and [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51]] planes. The range was used between 8am and 5pm, which meant that residents on the northern side of the island could not go south of it until after its training sessions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/world-war-ii.html|title=World War II|website=longboat key history.com|access-date=May 13, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708211600/http://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/world-war-ii.html|archive-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>