Presented by: Sean Corey

Fort Myers eventually became quite an impressive base. At it'speak, it featured a 1,000 foot wharf, and more than 50 buildingsconstructed of hardy yellow pine. The cleared ground around thefort fell roughly within the area bounded by the present dayHough, Monroe and Second streets.

Abandoned in 1858, Ft. Myers was re-occupied for a few weeks thefollowing year. The War Between the States brought federal troopsback in 1863 for a stay of 2 years, but at the wars end, Ft. Myers wasabandoned by the military once and for all.

Ft. Myers was one of the first forts built alongthe Caloosahatchee River as a base ofoperations against the Seminole Indians in1850 in honor of Colonel Abraham C. Meyers.

The twentieth century dawned with 943 residents in Ft. Myers. The town wasexperiencing what an historian called a "building boom." The "boom" actuallybegan in 1898 with the construction of what is now called the Murphy-Burroughs home setting the standard. Within the next few years a number ofmore elaborately decorated framed vernacular homes appeared along FirstStreet and out along Palm Beach Boulevard.

The growth of the community was greatly facilitated in 1904 with the arrival ofthe Coast Railroad, with its terminus at a dock on Monroe Street.

Bradford Hotel

Also in 1904 a series of buildingbooms fostered several newresidential subdivisions beyondDowntown, including DeanPark, Edison Park, and SeminolePark. During the sameyear, construction began on theBradford Hotel which still standson First Street.

Over time the original wooden buildings of downtown were replaced withmasonry and brick buildings, many of which still exist today. Fort Myers evensaw its first sky scraper Downtown in 1924 with the seven-story addition to theFranklin Arms Hotel. 1924 also marked the construction of a wooden bridgespanning the Caloosahatchee, aptly named the Edison Bridge, after our mostfamous winter resident. A power plant, several banks, commercial ice plantsand new hotels reflected the increase pace and growth during the first decadeof the century.

NOTEABLE HISTORIC

FORT MYERS BUILDINGS

Sydney Berne Davis Art Center

The building and its surrounding site has a long historyand, thus, has become part of the local heritage. The site on whichthe building now stands was a Native American Calusa Indiansettlement hundreds of years ago. In the mid-1800s, the sitebecame home to the original fort of “Fort Myers” and site of theofficer’s quarters.

The building was converted into a federal courthouse in the 1960s.Eventually, it was vacated in 1998 after a new courthouse was builtnearby.

Formerly known as the Whitehurst building, the 23,000 square feet Federal building opened in 1933 as a United States Post Office and attracted visitors from near and far to marvel at its unique architecture and ornate decorative details. The building’s massive columns are made of Florida Key limestone. Its walls are embedded with coral formations and sea shells.

Sydney Berne Davis Art Center In 2003, Jim Griffith and Florida Arts, Incorporated, the operator

of the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, acquired a 99-year leasefrom the City of Fort Myers on the building. Florida Arts, Inc.agreed to meld the past with the future by restoring the buildingto its original magnificence, while creating a modern arts facility.

In 2007 construction began for Phase 1 which included completion of all life

safety for the entire building and opened to the public September

10, 2009. To date 10,000 square feet of the building have been restored and

continuously provide world-class arts programming to the community.

Keep an eye out for more developments in the near future.

Post Office Arcade Originally built as an open air, L-shaped space with

entrances on both Broadway and First Street, developerGeorge R. Sims cunningly leased a large space to the U.S.Post Office for only $1 per year.-that way, would guaranteepostal visitors, he could charge other tenants high rates.The Post Office was moved to the Whitehurst Building in1933, but other stores remained, like the popular eatery TheSnack House.

A scene for the movie Just Cause, starring Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne, was filmed in the Arcade in 1994 just before the first street half was demolished to make way for the Federal Courthouse. Today, the Post Office Arcade is enclosed and is home the new Hotel Indigo and Ichiban Restaurant.

Fort Myers Art Walk First Fridays of the Month

ArtFest Fort Myers (Seasonal)

River District Farmer’ Market Thursdays

Fort Myers Music Walk Third Fridays of the Month

Bike Nights (Seasonal)

High Point Place

The Oasis