Another era ends on Longboat Key

The announced sale last week of Wedebrock Real Estate to Engel & Volkers marks the end and disappearance of yet another historical Longboat Key institution. From its founding by the late Arch Wedebrock, Wedebrock Real Estate has served hundreds of buyers and sellers on the Key since 1949 — 60 years.

Prior to the company moving to its present location on the north end of the Key, Wedebrock lived and operated his realty business in the building that is now The Longboat Observer, 5570 Gulf of Mexico Drive. The business was on the ground floor, and Wedebrock’s residence was a two-bedroom, two-bath unit on the second floor.

Lore has it that Wedebrock was a ballroom-dance devotee, a piece of history that we always share when we show visitors to the newspaper the second-floor newsroom — complete with hardwood flooring and the south wall covered from floor to ceiling with mirrors.

With the Wedebrock name fading into Longboat lore, only three businesses remain that have operated continuously for more than 50 years on Longboat Key — the Pub (now the MarVista Dockside Restaurant & Pub, 1947), Cannons Marina (1950) and the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort (1954).