Last Saturday morning a group consisting of Seaside homeowners, Notre Dame students and teachers, and others gathered outside the home of Seaside founder Robert Davis for a walking tour of his town.
The tour was led by Davis, the town's original town planner Andres Duany, and the town's longest-serving early town architect, Scott Merrill.
The tour was to coincide with the annual presentation of the Seaside Prize, which took place that night. The prize was presented to Merrill, who served as town architect from 1988 to 1990.
Merrill designed such iconic buildings as the Seaside Chapel, the Honeymoon Cottages, and the Motor Court, and went on to design several private homes in the town.
Humble origins
During Saturday's tour, Merrill, Davis, and Duany explained the town's humble beginnings, the frustrations they faced, and what worked and what didn't. Frustrations included the lack of skilled builders and craftsmen in the area, and attempting to lure potential buyers out to the undeveloped County Road 30A.
Duany and his wife and partner Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk wrote the guidelines and land plan that stated what the town would look like, its limits, set backs, and architectural style.
The lots in Seaside were released for individual sale street by street going from east to west around a pyramid generating from the town's center.
The first streets developed were Tupelo, and then Savannah, where a 22-foot height limit was established to ensure all houses would have the "old Florida" cottage look that Davis intended.
However, subsequent streets allowed 30-foot limits, and then 40-feet on the beach.
Building on the beach came later, however, as Davis' vision was for beach access for all the community, which could be found at the south end of each of the original streets. At each access, a pavilion was built to herald the message — "welcome to the beach."
The first houses built were on Tupelo Street and became commonly known as the red house and the yellow house. The red house was the sales office, and the yellow was the Davis home and model house for potential buyers to tour. They were built with wide, wrap-around porches for an abundance of outdoor rocking, large living rooms, and tiny bedrooms.
Davis had to mortgage six lots to build the two cottages.
"I told the bank I was building a subdivision because they couldn't grasp the concept," he remembers of those early days.
He views the end result as "a magical place."
Growing up
Lots sold for $15,000 to $25,000 at the time.
Most of the tours took place on Sundays when people were out driving around, seeing the sights and just happened upon the humble upstart development. The Davises took advantage of those opportunities to win people over. Davis' wife, Daryl, started the first Seaside farmer's market on the south side of County Road 30A, where she sold fresh, home-grown vegetables. Robert augmented his wife's efforts by having shrimp boils and cooking hotdogs. The couple now looks back on those days with warm memories.
Slowly, but surely, Davis' vision took off, but there were lessons to be learned, and changes were implemented accordingly.
It was determined that pine siding didn't weather well, and the switch was made to cedar.
Architectural drawings for the houses were drawn out on napkins as the group sat around a table, inspired by houses Davis knew in Grayton Beach. They were to be built on lots that had odd shapes.
And while the original cottages were inspired by Grayton Beach cottages, greenspaces in the town such as Ruskin Park were inspired by New Orleans' Jackson Square. The inspirations for the town’s row houses, such as the Honeymoon Cottages, were inspired by developments in Charleston.
The large, grand antebellum-style homes on tree-lined Seaside Avenue were originally meant to be multi-family boarding homes that morphed into a "silk stocking" district instead — "our version of Elm Street," said Davis.
However, time changes things, he noted.
"We are at the end of an era of prosperity and narcissistic entitlement, and we may see the day these homes go back to their original intention," he said.
‘Funky, not polished’
As the tour moved on from elegant Seaside Avenue eastward to Tupelo Street, the group was introduced to Seaside's highest point, at which rests a gazebo. It was the place the Davises were married with a Gulf of Mexico backdrop.
Merrill said developers believed it was important for homeowners to feel a sense of ownership in the beach at the end of the street.
Natural drainage was used in the construction of the streets because it was less expensive, said Duany. But at the second homeowners' meeting ever held, residents expressed a desire for the dirt streets to be paved; the decision was made that bricks should be used instead of asphalt.
The use of bricks in the street, however, was one of the few splurges.
"Seaside is under-maintained on purpose," Duany pointed out. "Funky was a recurring word Robert used. He wanted it to be funky, not polished, with an overlay of sophistication."
Part of the funkiness is that every house and street is different.
"Houses in Seaside have twice the value per square foot than those in WaterColor," said Duany. "WaterColor looks more like projects and is repetitive and uninteresting. In Seaside, every street is worth visiting."
Houses were to be pastel in color — any colors except beige or white. White was reserved for specific buildings.
"The ideas we used in the early days at Seaside, we have carried with us for the rest of our lives," added Merrill.
‘Reinventing itself’
Duany had the opportunity to implement the ideas and lessons learned when nine years after Seaside, Rosemary Beach was born.
"We went back and critiqued Seaside and re-evaluated and made changes," he said. "Such as Seaside's parking is in front of each house. Rosemary's is in back, and they have larger back yards."
Joining forces again, Merrill designed the Rosemary Beach Town Hall.
Alys Beach came along nine years after that, and again, Duany was involved in its planning.
Where most Seaside homes have no private yards to speak of, and Rosemary has more outdoor activity space, Alys Beach's yards are completely private.
"Alys Beach's outdoor living space was designed in the Latin fashion for privacy," said Duany. "It makes it easier to go nude in your backyard, but the more privacy you have, the less public interaction you have. You can't have it both ways. Rosemary is the best balance."
This year, Seaside turns 31 years old. As it ages, the New Urbanism walkable community that was started as an experiment in 1981 is now viewed throughout the world as a model community. Architects and builders come from around the globe to view Robert Davis' dream town.
"Seaside is a civilizing force and reinventing itself as a place for teaching," said Duany.
A charette will be held the last of February to discuss how to move forward in the next 10 years.
The tour was led by Davis, the town's original town planner Andres Duany, and the town's longest-serving early town architect, Scott Merrill.
The tour was to coincide with the annual presentation of the Seaside Prize, which took place that night. The prize was presented to Merrill, who served as town architect from 1988 to 1990.
Merrill designed such iconic buildings as the Seaside Chapel, the Honeymoon Cottages, and the Motor Court, and went on to design several private homes in the town.
Humble origins
During Saturday's tour, Merrill, Davis, and Duany explained the town's humble beginnings, the frustrations they faced, and what worked and what didn't. Frustrations included the lack of skilled builders and craftsmen in the area, and attempting to lure potential buyers out to the undeveloped County Road 30A.
Duany and his wife and partner Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk wrote the guidelines and land plan that stated what the town would look like, its limits, set backs, and architectural style.
The lots in Seaside were released for individual sale street by street going from east to west around a pyramid generating from the town's center.
The first streets developed were Tupelo, and then Savannah, where a 22-foot height limit was established to ensure all houses would have the "old Florida" cottage look that Davis intended.
However, subsequent streets allowed 30-foot limits, and then 40-feet on the beach.
Building on the beach came later, however, as Davis' vision was for beach access for all the community, which could be found at the south end of each of the original streets. At each access, a pavilion was built to herald the message — "welcome to the beach."
The first houses built were on Tupelo Street and became commonly known as the red house and the yellow house. The red house was the sales office, and the yellow was the Davis home and model house for potential buyers to tour. They were built with wide, wrap-around porches for an abundance of outdoor rocking, large living rooms, and tiny bedrooms.
Davis had to mortgage six lots to build the two cottages.
"I told the bank I was building a subdivision because they couldn't grasp the concept," he remembers of those early days.
He views the end result as "a magical place."
Growing up
Lots sold for $15,000 to $25,000 at the time.
Most of the tours took place on Sundays when people were out driving around, seeing the sights and just happened upon the humble upstart development. The Davises took advantage of those opportunities to win people over. Davis' wife, Daryl, started the first Seaside farmer's market on the south side of County Road 30A, where she sold fresh, home-grown vegetables. Robert augmented his wife's efforts by having shrimp boils and cooking hotdogs. The couple now looks back on those days with warm memories.
Slowly, but surely, Davis' vision took off, but there were lessons to be learned, and changes were implemented accordingly.
It was determined that pine siding didn't weather well, and the switch was made to cedar.
Architectural drawings for the houses were drawn out on napkins as the group sat around a table, inspired by houses Davis knew in Grayton Beach. They were to be built on lots that had odd shapes.
And while the original cottages were inspired by Grayton Beach cottages, greenspaces in the town such as Ruskin Park were inspired by New Orleans' Jackson Square. The inspirations for the town’s row houses, such as the Honeymoon Cottages, were inspired by developments in Charleston.
The large, grand antebellum-style homes on tree-lined Seaside Avenue were originally meant to be multi-family boarding homes that morphed into a "silk stocking" district instead — "our version of Elm Street," said Davis.
However, time changes things, he noted.
"We are at the end of an era of prosperity and narcissistic entitlement, and we may see the day these homes go back to their original intention," he said.
‘Funky, not polished’
As the tour moved on from elegant Seaside Avenue eastward to Tupelo Street, the group was introduced to Seaside's highest point, at which rests a gazebo. It was the place the Davises were married with a Gulf of Mexico backdrop.
Merrill said developers believed it was important for homeowners to feel a sense of ownership in the beach at the end of the street.
Natural drainage was used in the construction of the streets because it was less expensive, said Duany. But at the second homeowners' meeting ever held, residents expressed a desire for the dirt streets to be paved; the decision was made that bricks should be used instead of asphalt.
The use of bricks in the street, however, was one of the few splurges.
"Seaside is under-maintained on purpose," Duany pointed out. "Funky was a recurring word Robert used. He wanted it to be funky, not polished, with an overlay of sophistication."
Part of the funkiness is that every house and street is different.
"Houses in Seaside have twice the value per square foot than those in WaterColor," said Duany. "WaterColor looks more like projects and is repetitive and uninteresting. In Seaside, every street is worth visiting."
Houses were to be pastel in color — any colors except beige or white. White was reserved for specific buildings.
"The ideas we used in the early days at Seaside, we have carried with us for the rest of our lives," added Merrill.
‘Reinventing itself’
Duany had the opportunity to implement the ideas and lessons learned when nine years after Seaside, Rosemary Beach was born.
"We went back and critiqued Seaside and re-evaluated and made changes," he said. "Such as Seaside's parking is in front of each house. Rosemary's is in back, and they have larger back yards."
Joining forces again, Merrill designed the Rosemary Beach Town Hall.
Alys Beach came along nine years after that, and again, Duany was involved in its planning.
Where most Seaside homes have no private yards to speak of, and Rosemary has more outdoor activity space, Alys Beach's yards are completely private.
"Alys Beach's outdoor living space was designed in the Latin fashion for privacy," said Duany. "It makes it easier to go nude in your backyard, but the more privacy you have, the less public interaction you have. You can't have it both ways. Rosemary is the best balance."
This year, Seaside turns 31 years old. As it ages, the New Urbanism walkable community that was started as an experiment in 1981 is now viewed throughout the world as a model community. Architects and builders come from around the globe to view Robert Davis' dream town.
"Seaside is a civilizing force and reinventing itself as a place for teaching," said Duany.
A charette will be held the last of February to discuss how to move forward in the next 10 years.