[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2956]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            CELEBRATING 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ANNA MARIA PIER

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                           HON. VERN BUCHANAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 1, 2011

  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th 
anniversary of the construction of the Anna Maria Pier in Florida's 
13th Congressional District.
  In 1911, Will Bean, the son of the first Anna Maria Island 
homesteader, George Emerson, had a 776 foot pier constructed by the 
Anna Maria Beach Development Company at the foot of Pine Avenue.
  The pier has been in continuous use since then by hundreds of 
thousands of residents, fishermen, boaters and tourists. In fact, the 
pier has been named the number one tourist attraction in Manatee County 
by the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
  In 1928, the pier was acquired by the City of Anna Maria, which 
provides for its maintenance.
  In 2008, the Anna Maria City Commission designated the pier as an 
historic structure and added the pier to the Florida Master Site File.
  This year, the Mayor of the City of Anna Maria proclaimed May 14, 
2011, as the Centennial Celebration Day to commemorate the 100th 
anniversary of the Anna Maria City Pier's construction.
  I join the City of Anna Maria in the centennial celebration of this 
important landmark.

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