HOLIDAY, Fla. — A historic house in Pasco County may soon be demolished to make way for a new park.

The Anderson House sits next to the Centennial Park Library in Holiday

What You Need To Know

  • Pasco Libraries recommends demolishing the Anderson House to build a new park

  • The home was first built in 1938 by citrus grower Charles Anderson

  • It was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996

  • Anderson's descendant would like the house remembered in some way, with a historical marker or model

It was first built in 1938 by citrus grower, Charles Anderson.

The memories come flooding back for his great-granddaughter, Fran Nurrenbrock, when she sees the house.

“We played in all the rooms,” Nurrenbrock said in an interview at the house. “I learned to ride a bicycle from the top of the hill down from the house. My brother pushed me.”

The Anderson House may not look like much now, but it was once ahead of its time. Charles Anderson even included things like an electric garage opener, cutting edge technology in 1938.

Pasco County later bought the house in 1981, and it was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

But time has taken its toll, and the Pasco County library system is recommending it be taken down so park can be built in its place.

“We’re extremely sad that this is going down,” Fran said. “We’d like to have it preserved for future generations, but we understand the cost of bringing it up to code.”

The Anderson House was last used in 2015. The Pasco Fine Arts Council was a tenant there for 30 years. They moved out because of the age of the house, and it has been empy ever since.

The county was even forced to board up the home due to issues with vandalism.

Plans for the park include a boardwalk and a playground, among other things. Right now, holiday doesn’t have anything like that.

“It would be great if it could be preserved,” said Robert Harrison with Pasco County Libraries. “But to have a park for this community, with their name on it, I think that’s a real win.”

Pasco County hired a consulting firm, PaleoWest, to see if the home could be repaired. But costs were too high.

Fran hopes that at least a historical marker will be left in her old family home’s place. Other ideas include a video documentary on the home or a 3-D model that park visitors could see.

“We’re happy if they can build a nice park here — preserve some memory of the family and elements of the house,” Fran said.

Plans to demolish the house are not final. Pasco County is still gathering public input, much of which has been in support of the park.