Photographic Record of Waterway Changes

Transcription

1 60 Downtown Punt Gord Wterfront Punt Gord Isles Photogrphi Reord of Wterwy Chnges Perhps the best wy to understnd the dynmi hnges tht Southwest Florid hs undergone is through the photogrphi reord of wterwy ltertions. In the lst 100-plus yers, Southwest Florid s shorefront hs hnged from olletion of rurl, desolte res of srub, mngrove, nd slt mrsh dotted with sleepy griulturl nd fishing ommunities into vibrnt, growing urbn re lush with bustling ities nd vst residentil developments. The following desriptions, in words nd pitures, offer glimpse of Southwest Florid s it one ws nd how it hs hnged. Mp 1 shows lotions of the res desribed. Punt Bln Settlement Yht Club Colony Downtown Ft. Myers Wterfront Sn Crlos Islnd nd Ft. Myers Beh

2 Miles The Moorings Dotors By Port Royl, Aqulne Shores, Royl Hrbor, Nples Wterwy t Shell By nd John s Pss Smokehouse By Clm By Mp 1. Photo reord se studies. 61

3 1. Downtown Punt Gord Wterfront 62 Downtown Punt Gord Wterfront hnges re ptured in mps nd photogrphs from 1921 to present dy. The Army Engineers 1921 mps (Figures 1A nd 1B) shows existing wterfront onditions nd those from n erlier time. In , the rilrod ompleted spur to () Old Long Dok (Old Cttle Whrf on mp), the first modern dok fility used by ommeril fishermen to off-lod fresh fish pked in ie nd to ship their th by ril to United Sttes mrkets. In 1897, Long Dok ws bndoned (lter destroyed) for the Atlnti Cost Line rilrod dok (b) t King Street. City Whrf (Figure 1A, ), t the foot of Sullivn Street (Figure 1C), ws destroyed in A fire in 1915 destroyed the fish houses on the King Street Dok, but some were rebuilt. Figure 1B shows fish houses nd ship hndleries on the King Street Dok (b) nd the Ie Whrf (d) t the foot of the lley to the est. The riverfront between King nd Nesbit Streets ws lined with smll mrine wys, bot repir filities, nd blksmith shop (e). Fishing bots, like the uxiliry-powered shooner Romer (Figure 1D), operted from Punt Gord during this er. The Nesbit Street Bridge (Figure 1B, f) ws ounty rod tht spnned the Pee River from Punt Gord to Live Ok Point nd Chrlotte Hrbor Town. The King Street Dok (Figure 1B, b) ws removed in the lte 1920s in order to build the modern bridge right of wy. A residentil distrit long Rett (Esplnde) Avenue hd been lid out erly in the ity s history (Figure 1E). The eril photogrph in Figure 1F shows erly 1940s wterfront onditions; nteedent strutures desribed bove re outlined in red. Note the old bridge pproh t the foot of Nesbit Street. The re to the west hd been filled. An old lndmrk hotel (g) remined from bygone dys, s did the bndoned rilrod spur to the Old Cttle Whrf. By the erly 1940s, dredged bot bsin nd pier (h) oupied the present-dy lotion of Fishermen s Villge. The City s riverfront prk (i) t Rett Esplnde ws n open spe. b Figure 1A. Punt Gord downtown, 1921.

4 b f d e g Figure 1B. Punt Gord downtown (detiled pln),

5 The modern wterfront (Figure 1G) shows ompletely trnsformed urbn spe. The old Nesbit Street County Bridge is repled by two seprte fixed spns southbound trffi on Gilhrist Bridge nd northbound on Collier Bridge. Commeril mrine filities hve given wy to servie retil outlet stores nd hotels. The open spe long Rett Esplnde is Gilhrist Prk. A time- 64 shre duplex with retil shopping, resturnts nd modern mrin Fishermen s Villge oupies the ommeril fish pier t the former lotion of the Old Cttle Dok. Lnd hs been filled out into the river to provide buildble spe for these expnding servies. The old-town tmosphere nd erly 1900s buildings, espeilly old homes, re retined long Mrion nd Olympi nd west of Nesbit. Figure 1C. Punt Gord ity whrf. Figure 1D. Shooner Romer t Punt Gord. Figure 1E. Punt Gord Rett (Esplnde) Avenue. Figure 1F. Punt Gord downtown, 1940s. Collier Bridge Muniipl Mrin Yht Bsin Punt Gord Bot Club Gilhrist Prk Gilhrist Bridge Rett Esplnde Cross Tylor Fill Hotel Bot Rmp Shopping Civi Mll Center Hotel King Sullivn Mrion Wood Olympi King, Jr. Fishermen s Villge Figure 1G. Punt Gord downtown,1992.

6 Pee River Pee River d b Chrlotte Hrbor Figure 2B. Punt Gord Isles, Chrlotte Hrbor Figure 2A. Lotion of Punt Gord Isles, e Pee River d Punt Gord Isles Punt Gord Isles is illustrtive of the most drmti hnges in wterwy development nmely, those diretly tied to dredge-nd-fill whih mde lnd vilble for residentil use. In 1944 (Figure 2A), muh of the re ws srub, unimproved psture, nd wetlnd. By 1972 (Figure 2B), Alligtor Creek () hd rtifiil nls extending north into Chrlotte Prk (b) nd Rivier (), while most of the nls north of Aqui Est Drive (d) in Punt Gord Isles hd been reted. By 1995 (Figure 2C), the entire nl system, s its exists tody, omprised over 2,000 slt-wter prels with ess hnnels north to the Pee River, or through Pone de Leon Chnnel (e) nd Alligtor Creek () to Chrlotte Hrbor. b Chrlotte Hrbor Figure 2C. Punt Gord Isles, (Flse-olor Infrred Imge) 65

7 66 Punt Bln Settlement Figure 3A. Punt Bln, Punt Bln s Settlement, whih oupied the south tip of the islnd until the lte 1950s, typifies the smller, self-ontined fishing ommunities tht dotted the Chrlotte Hrbor shoreline in the erly 20th entury. Settled by some of the sme fishing fmilies tht populted Cyo Cost, Bo Grnde, nd Pine Islnd, some 15 households lived there in the yers preeding World Wr II. The villge inluded shoolhouse nd generl store. Smll-bot repirs nd fishing were the minstys of the eonomy. The eril view tken in 1944 shows mny fetures of the histori settlement (Figure 3A). The dredged pproh hnnel () nd bot bsin (b) re prominent elements. Note the fish-house () south of the entrne to the pproh hnnel, whih ws fvorite photo subjet of boters heding down Pine Islnd Sound hnnel until it burned in 1995 (Figure 3B). Prop-wsh of the run-bots, s they me longside nd servied the fish-house, reted the shol (d). The bot building shed t (e) hd mrine wys used for lunhing. Other strutures shown on the photo re the shool (f), generl store (g), ommunity dok (h) nd out-houses (i). The settlement hd one telephone, onneted to Bo Grnde by n underwter ble rossing the inlet nd overhed wires strung on poles ross Pelin By. Shoolge hildren from neighboring islnds were shuttled to nd from Punt Bln until the shool burned down in the lte 1950s nd Lee County terminted bot pikup servie. Tody, little remins of this pioneer fishing ommunity (Figure 3C). The site is overgrown with exoti vegettion, mostly Austrlin pine. The wellhed pipe of n rtesin spring tht one supplied drinking wter rotted out yers go. The dredged entrne hnnel still ommodtes deep-drft bots tht venture into the bsin nd seek shelter from northers during the winter seson. Figure 3C. Punt Bln, Figure 3B. Fish house t Punt Bln, 1970.