Sarasota National Cemetary School Tours

The 295-acre national cemetery in the Sarasota area will serve veterans’ needs for the next 50 years. The cemetery is located in Sarasota County along State Road 72 and approximately four miles east of Interstate 75.

In April 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs purchased the site from private citizens and has awarded a contract to Miller Legg & Associates of Winter Park, Fla., to design the new cemetery. Construction of Phase IB is complete and provides for nearly 18,200 full casket gravesites, including 15,200 pre-placed crypts, 9,000 in-ground cremains and approximately 7,200 columbarium niches. This also includes an administration and public information center complex with an electronic gravesite locator and public restrooms, a maintenance facility, a cemetery entrance area, a flag assembly area and a memorial walkway and a donations area, as well as two committal shelters and other infrastructure design elements include roadways, landscaping, utilities, and irrigation.

The 2,800-seat ceremonial amphitheater “Patriot Plaza”, donated by The Patterson Foundation of Sarasota, was completed June 28, 2014. Every Tuesday at 10 a.m., there are guided tours of the commissioned art work located within the Patriot Plaza.

To schedule larger group tours to include school children tours, please call the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County at 941-365-5118 x301.