The Historic Marker near the corner of Central Avenue and Boulevard of the Arts (formerly 6th Street) marks the heart of Rosemary District.

Established in the 1880s, the area called Overtown was a thriving live/work/play African-American community. Our goal is to Respect and Celebrate the District’s Cultural and Built History through identification, understanding and education, recognition, and preservation of these resources.

Today the Rosemary District is alive with restaurants, artist studios, galleries, home decor showrooms, business and boutiques.

The community is equal parts creative business hub for office space, art scene, dining destination, and dynamic and vibrant residential community. Come explore our neighborhood and you’ll quickly discover why this creative community is the best place to live, work and play in beautiful Sarasota.

As we look toward the future we want to develop the community as a complete live, work, play neighborhood.

We will continue to preserve the cultural and built history in the community while we aim to enhance the connectivity to downtown and The Bay, focus on walkability and green spaces and provide support for the business and residents in our district by advocating on their behalf.