(The Venice Gondolier Sun posted the following article on its website on October 26.)
VENICE, Fla. — The late Betty Arnall, founder of the city’s archives, was honored with the first-ever Venice Legacy Award from the Venice Historical Commission, at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
The posthumous award was accepted by Venice resident George Ronald, Arnall’s son. A second award was presented in honor of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
The BLE union is credited for building much of Venice in the 1920s as an investment tool, and BLE President Don Hahs, who accepted the award, joked about how his organization wishes they still owned land here.
“The city has now grown to be what we envisioned it to be in the 1920s,” Hahs told the crowd. “The city is really beautiful. … We’re proud of our contributions here, though we didn’t really profit by it.”
The Venice Historical Commission plans to annually honor individuals or organizations for their contributions to historical preservation or significant historical impact in the Venice area.
In addition to the award presentation, engraved paving stones acknowledging recipients will be placed in a prominent area of the Lord Family House garden.
Venice Archives founder
Elizabeth Hauser Arnall grew up, married and raised her family in Venice. She was dedicated to collecting, documenting and preserving area history, according to Venice Historical Commission.
It was through her vision and commitment that the community’s archives were born.
They were first housed in a closet in the Venice Public Library, then moved to larger quarters in Venice City Hall, where they became known as the Venice Archives and Area Historical Collection.
Arnall served as the first director of historical resources for the city of Venice from 1987 to 1996, and as chair of the Friends of the Library Historical Collection Committee from 1976 to 1991.
Arnall died in 1997, leaving the area with a historical collection to be used and enjoyed by residents and visitors for generations to come.
Creating Venice
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers is recognized for its promotion and development of the Venice area from 1925 to 1928. Union president, Don Hahs from Cleveland, Ohio, came to Venice to accept the award.
The wealthy and powerful railroad union was lured into the Florida land boom in 1925. During the next three years, it invested considerable resources in developing the model city of Venice in consultation with city planner John Nolen.
The BLE was responsible for building four hotels, several commercial buildings, an apartment district, Venezia Park and Edgewood residential neighborhoods, as well as numerous parks and more than 25 miles of roads and sidewalks. All buildings were designed and constructed in the Northern Italian Renaissance architectural style.
The union’s development efforts were terminated when the Florida land boom faltered. However, the unique historical character and community concept of Venice endure because of the BLE’s early influence.