FORT MYERS (Lee County)

RIVER PORT HOME OF COWBOYS AND INVENTORS


For more information on Fort Myers - visit: THE CITY OF FORT MYERS, FLORIDA; THE FORT MYERS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

, SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY and FORT MYERS BEACH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE



FT. MYERS, the most important city in Southwest Florida, started in the 1840's when a hurricane forced the evacuation of Seminole War Fort Dulaney at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee. First Lt. John Harvie found a safe place for a fort, which was named FORT MYERS in honor of Seminole War hero Colonel Abraham C. Myers. While retired soldiers built homes along the River, it was cattlemen like Jake Summerlin and Captain James McKay, using the river to ship cows to Cuba, that developed the town in the  1860's and 1870's.

Still, at the time of incorporation in 1885, there were just 349 citizens, waiting for the arrival of the railroad and Northern visitors like Thomas Alva Edison. The town boomed during the 1920s, but it was after World War when retirees poured into Southwest Florida did the city grow. Although more people actually live in the giant retirement city of Cape Coral, Fort Myers remains the historic heartland of Southwest Florida.

START: PARK by the river at the parking areas to walk or START your DRIVE from the FORT MYERS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE at 2310 Edwards Drive (941-332-3624) by the waterfront. To the northeast you'll see the site of the (1) THOMAS EDISON BRIDGE (1931), spanning the Caloosahatchee River on what is now Alternate US41 with the massive high-rise bridge to the left taking US41. Ironically when Florida Governor Doyle Carlton opened the concrete structure on Edison's 84th birthday, it lacked electric lights.

To your left is another Lee County landmark, the: (2) FORT MYERS YACHT BASIN (1943), across the entire waterfront of Fort Myers.  The docks have fishing charters as well as cruises up the Caloosahatchee River.

GO ONE BLOCK EASTWARD (upstream) and TURN SOUTH ON JACKSON STREET, PASS BAY STREET, and unless you are in a hurry you might want to turn left to see three old downtown residences: This area is viewed as the River District. On the south side you will see the (3) WALTER LANGFORD/KINGSTON HOUSE (1919), a red brick and white masonry bungalow with two hip dormers and four full story dormers. It was moved here by the Lee Trust for Preservation and is often used for special events. Across the street in the same block is the: (4) JOHN MURPHY-BURROUGHS HOUSE (1892), 2505 First Street, an outstanding Georgian house with a three sided verandah and a widow's walk. The Murphy-Burroughs House is a popular local attraction

At 2577 First Street is the Queen Anne (5) HEITMAN HOUSE (1908), with another widow's walk and a circular verandah. If you continue east and go south, you will enter a historic district of smaller 1920s residences.

TURN AROUND AND HEAD DOWNTOWN WEST ON FIRST STREET. You will sadly notice several empty lots that once had older buildings. On the northeast corner of First and Bay was the: (6) FIRST BUILDING (1920), 2301 First Street, known to many as the Bank of Fort Myers.

  

   Fort Myers Museum/ RR Depot                          The Courthouse                                  Henry Ford House

On the southeast corner is the (7) EDISON REGENCY HOTEL (1910), 2320 First Street. CONTINUE DOWN FIRST PAST JACKSON STREET.

At 2250 First Street is the long(8) EARNHARDT BUILDING (1915), a fine brick structure by Harvie Hartman with elaborate trim and spiral scrolls at the cornice. Thre are rows of apartments on the second floor. Across the street at 2221 First Street is the (9) PATIO DE LEON (1913), one of the many commercial buildings, including four hotels, by retired Michigan financier Peter Tonnelier.

TURN LEFT (south) ON HENDRY STREET. At 1534 Hendry Street is the (10) OLD LEE COMPANY BANK (1911), a two story stucco brick Neo-Classical Revival started by pioneer James A. Hendry. Note the mosaic of Robert E. Lee recessed on the wall. If you are doing a drive, you will want to locate parking areas and restaurants.

Across the street is the (11) EDISON THEATER (1941), 2237 Main Street at Hendry Street, opened by John Hendry whose first theater started in 1908. ONE BLOCK DOWN is the: (12) R. O. RICHARDS BUILDING (PYTHIAN BUILDING) (1923), 1615 Hendry Street, started with Royal Palm Pharmacy and designed by Tampan Fred J. James. Richards, President of the state pharmacy board, was instrumental in getting Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics to come to Fort Myers in 1924. It now houses The Open Door Shops. The KRESS BUILDING at 2132 First ws built in 1927 by L.C. Catwright.

   

                  The Burroughs House                                             EDISON THEATRE

At 1625 Hendry Street is the four-story yellow bricked(13) ROBB & STUCKY BUILDING (1924), a four-story Neo-Classical which was the start of a large furniture firm. They even had a shop in Tampa when I moved there decades ago. . TURN RIGHT ON SECOND STREET. At 2253 Second Streetwas the (14) ANDREW GWYNEE INSTITUTE (1911), founded by a Memphis cotton broker who wanted to boost local education. Nearby is the Lee County School offices.

The popular VERANDAH RESTAURANT (239-332-2065) is housed in the two building (15) GARNER-GONZLES COMPLEX (1910), Second and 1722 Broadway. Captain Manuel Gonzalez, ran a general store and his daughter wed local official J. F. Garner. Son Thomas Gonzalez wrote the book  THE CALOOSAHATCHEE

TURN RIGHT ON BROADWAY and go north one block to Marion Street. You won't miss on your left the: (16) OLD LEE COUNTY COURTHOUSE (1915), 2120 Main Street, a Doric two- story temple. The Lee County Anex was the 1926 Ford Garage built by Sykes and Hill.

 

                                   First Street                                             The Langford House

CROSS MAIN STREET and continue to the: (17) HENRY COLQUITT BUILDING (1925), northwest corner of Main and Broadway, built by the former Detroit realtor who owned the Caloosahatchee Bridge Company.

TURN LEFT (west) ON FIRST STREET. At 2118 First Street is the lovely (18) COLLIER ARCADE (1925), designed by New York City advertising executive George R. Sims. At 2192 First Street is the (19) KRESS BUILDING (1927), a three story edifice now with Starbucks by Frank Curtright.

YOU WILL NEED TO RETURN TO YOUR AUTOMOBILE IF YOU ARE WALKING and go WEST ON MAIN STREET until it becomes McGregor Boulevard, the popular route tof Fort Myers Beach, famous for its Royal palms. The street is lined with older houses and stores including the 1925 FRANKLIN MILLS BUILDING, a Mediterranean Revival arcade built by the founder of the famous laboratory.

The street leads to the: (20) THOMAS EDISON WINTER HOUSE (1886), 2341 McGregor Boulevard, the great inventor's cold months residence from 1886 to his death in 1927. "SEMINOLE LODGE" is a two story frame house with a connecting guest house. The original carbon filament light bulbs that Edison installed are still operating. His winter laboratory, his vast tropical garden collections, and his bamboo swimming pool show that Edison's mind never slowed. The Edison Museum is a treasure house of inventions including every automobile his winter neighbor Henry Ford ever gave him.

Across McGregor Boulevard is the: (21) HENRY FORD WINTER HOUSE (1896), 2400 McGregor Boulevard, a huge bungalow purchased by the Henry and Clara Ford to winter with friend Edison.

Down the street is the: (22) PETER TONNELLER HOUSE (1937), 2300 McGregor Boulevard, the residence of Fort Myers' Ritz Theater and many downtown buildings. It now houses lawyers..

Other Notable Buildings In Area: ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD STATION (1924), 2300 Peck Street, was the Fort Myers Historical Museum. The BUCKINGHAM SCHOOL (1895), on Buckingham Road, is a wood frame country school with a high metal roof topped by an open belfry. The area was the center of a British WWII airfield. The C. W. STRIBLEY HOUSE (1922), 2424 McGregor Boulevard, is a two-story Mediterranean Revival built by a paper manufacturer. The PAVESE-HENDRY HOUSE (1909), 1619 Jackson Street, is a two-story house with a widow's walk and a large front veranda.