Obituary of Sanford M Goldman

Sanford Maurice Goldman, 88, was born December 27, 1934, in St. Petersburg, Florida, where his family has held strong ties for over 100 years. Goldman attended local public schools for his elementary through highschool years and would later attend the University of Florida where he graduated from the School of Architecture. Upon graduation, Goldman was accepted as an apprentice to study and work directly with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin in both Wisconsin and Arizona. Goldman would go on to work in major architectural offices in Chicago and Miami before starting his own architectural practice in 1961 in St. Petersburg.

A champion for social justice, Goldman was selected in 1968 as one of the original members of the Community Alliance, a bi-racial group the mayor formed to help solve racial issues within St. Petersburg. Goldman was also involved in voter registration drives and as an architectural advisor to the state NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

In 1972, the St. Petersburg City Council appointed Goldman to the first ever Environmental Planning and Development Commission which  later led to Goldman being a recipient of the “Keys to the City” in 1974 for his dedicated work on the commission.

In 1979, Goldman moved his family and architectural practice from St. Petersburg to Brooksville, Florida, where they bought a forty-acre farm known as Gold Dust Farm and raised horses, chickens, and bees. His practice there consisted primarily of governmental buildings including the current courthouse. For many years, the family also owned a weekend home on the Homosassa River, which was only accessible by boat.

Goldman loved to travel. Some of his travels included the primitive San Blas Islands in Panama with his college roommate, a month long trip throughout Europe, an extended trip throughout Vietnam that included connecting with river boat people in the Mekong Delta, a trip to Cambodia that included the Temples of Angkor Wat and the
capitol Phnom Penh, and most recently, trips to Cuba and the mountain jungles of Uganda with his wife, Mary, where they saw the endangered mountain gorillas following a strenuous hike at the age 76.

Goldman was an avid sailor and pilot. He sailed extensively in the Tampa Bay area with his wife, Anne, who also accompanied him as they chartered a bare sailboat in the Virgin Islands. As a pilot, he flew mostly out of AlbertWitted airport back when only windsocks were predominately utilized for landings. Goldman and his family also enjoyed camping in state parks throughout Florida and Georgia.

In 2003, having moved back to St. Petersburg from Brooksville, his wife, Anne Goldman, who was an award winning and nationally renowned journalist with the Times Bay Times, passed away after over 36 years of marriage.

In 2010 Goldman married Dr. Mary Davenport, a family psychologist trained at the University of Pennsylvania and now a noted therapist practicing in Sarasota.

St. Petersburg honored Goldman again in 2018 with a Proclamation from the City Council and Mayor for outstanding lifetime achievement for architecture and service to St. Petersburg.

In 2021, Goldman’s legendary architectural achievements were permanently archived at the State of Florida Museum at The University of Florida where his oral history was recorded and preserved in 2022.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, and three children, Shane Davis (Gerald), Edward Goldman (Stephanie), and Summer Goldman (Scott Boshek) and five grandchildren, Kristen, Jace, Hannah, Garrison, and Rayne.

Goldman is predeceased by his parents, Evelyn and Ed Goldman and his sister, Jane Silverberg.