1630 Oak / Plowden / Marable
The Craftsman Bungalow house at 1630 Oak, also known as “Marable House”, was built in 1924 and is locally designated historic.
The main structure has a moderate pitched, front facing, twin gabled roof and enclosed porch. The cornice has dentil detailing. The house has brick pier foundation and a brick chimney located on the west side of the building. Made of wood balloon construction, the structure has drop siding and a composition shingle roof.
Common to the Craftsman Bungalow style, the building has exposed rafter tails under the eaves. Also characteristic of Bungalow styling is the structure’s from porch, which was enclosed by the owner in the late 1970s. The porch is supported by square columns that rest on massive piers.
A garage/apartment apparently dating to approximately the time of construction exists on the south side of the property. The apartment has an open porch and 1/1 double hung sash windows. The garage consists of three large bays enclosed by large two-panel double doors which encompass the fort elevation facing Rawls Ave.
The interior of the building shows a beaded pine ceiling and six-light French doors leading to what might once have been used as a dining room. Other interior features of interest are original wainscoting in the kitchen, several original light fixtures and four-panel doors.
In 1930, W.E. Morton purchased the house and the tenants then were C.A. Barth and his wife Hazel. Mr. Barth was the press foreman for the Sarasota Herald. Frank and Julie Austin bought the house in 1935 from Morton and kept it until 1968. During this period Gene and Elsie Plowden and Marshall and Ethel Marable were tenants.
Gene Plowden, one of the notable residents of 1630 Oak Street, was a journalist and author who wrote several books about the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Through his books and numerous articles for the Associated Press and United Press International, Plowden earned a reputation as a leading authority on the circus. His works include “Those Amazing Ringling and Their Circus”, “Gargantua”, “Singing Wheels and Circus Wagons”, and “Merle Evans, Maestro of the Circus”, a biography of the Ringling show’s longtime bandleader.
On his obituary, Evans commented that “He knew more about the circus and the Ringling than I did, and I worked for them.”
Plowden came to Florida in the 1920s to write for small newspapers in Sebring and Wauchula. He work frequently brought him to Sarasota, where he reported on the activities at the Ringling circus winter quarters. From 1932 to 1932, he was a reporter and sports editor at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. It was during that period that Plowden’s lifelong love for the circus really developed, according to his widow Doris. Mrs. Plowden recalled “His interest started when he met John Ringling. Gene found him to a marvelous, flamboyant character, and he quickly got caught up in the circus atmosphere”. He began to meet so many colorful and fascinating people, and he wanted to tell their stories.”
Plowden was a general assignment report for UPI from 1938 to 1941, working in Atlanta and Washington, DC, among other cities. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he joined the Miami office of the AP, where he worked until his retirement in 1969.
The Plowdens moved to back Sarasota from Miami in 1978. His last book was “Women of the Circus”, an account of not just the performers, but also the people that the public never saw. The women who raised the children, sawed the costumes, and cooked the meals.
Marshall “Eddie” Marable and his wife Ethel lived at 1630 Oak Street.
Eddie owned and operated Marable’s Market at 1924 S. Osprey Ave (now Morton’s Market) for many years prior to his retirement in 1969. He began his retail grocery career in 1935 when he managed the Table Supply market on Main Street. In 1940 he bought a grocery store on Osprey Ave, on the same block as Marable’s Market. The business grew and in 1946 he enlarged the operation.
Marable’s Market was built in 1950. In 1959, Marable began a major renovation of the build and over a four-year period extensive alterations to both the interior and exterior were completed. He sold the business in 1969 to Ted Morton, who had been the store manager for 17 years.
Eddie server on the Sarasota City Commission from 1956 to 1962 and was mayor of the city from 1960 to 1961.
Ethel Marable was also very active in the community, serving as president of the Altrusa Club of Sarasota, a member of the Rotary Club, board member of the Women’s Center of Sarasota, and active at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer.