2021 Sebring Chamber Area Guide (4)

Rich in
History
Did you know that Sebring is one of the few
surviving circular cities in the United States?
Completed in 1912, it is also the oldest circular
city in Florida and the only one that uses a
circle for its primary commercial district?
Where did George Sebring get the idea for
Sebring’s Circle?
Circle Park in Sebring has historically served as
the focus for Sebring’s social activities, and in
earlier days, political gatherings, and religious
services. Today, the Circle is home to many
community events and festivals, including the
Sebring Soda Festival, the Art, Wine & Jazz
Festival, the Rotary Club’s Chili Cook Off, and
more.
Sebring’s Circle has received official recognition
for its significance as a contributing
element within the Sebring Historic District. The
District was listed in the National Register of
Historic Places in 1989.
Most people think that he adopted the idea
from a magazine illustration of Heliopolis, an
ancient Egyptian city. A WPA Federal Writer’s
Project, Allen and Joan Morris’ Florida Handbook,
published biennially from 1947 through
2011, Florida Backroads Travel, and some of
our local websites set forth this view.
But in his book, Sebring: City on the Circle,
author Stephen Olausen presents other theories.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a
movement was underway in the United States
to break the monotony of standard grid patterns
in city planning and to incorporate green
space into development. The Circle fits the
goals of this movement with its circular park
surrounded by a drive from which six avenues
radiate.
Furthermore, in an early Sebring Real Estate
Company brochure, Mr. Sebring states “the
town is laid out somewhat after the manner of
Washington cities and Indianapolis with a
circle in the center and broad avenues
running out from it like spokes from a hub”. Mr.
Sebring also no doubt was influenced by his
native Ohio roots. The Ohio Valley region has
the greatest profusion of circular towns in the
United States, including Circleville, Ohio,
platted in 1810 from it like spokes from a hub.
Story provided by the Sebring Historical Society.
16
Sebring Chamber of Commerce