Downtown Ft. Myers Blog 8

 

When I think of downtown areas I generally neglect to think of the historical aspect of the city and often focus most of my attention to the busy streets, tall buildings and the crowds of people. When I heard we were going to downtown Ft. Myers I thought to myself this is going to be a waste of time, considering I have been there more times then I could possibility count. However Despite my initial negativity the experience was rewarding on multiple levels.  Upon our arrival to Downtown Ft. Myers our first stop was to the Ft. Myers Historical Museum. I have been there several times before as a young child and each time I go I learn something new! Fortunately this time we had Professor Wilkinson there to give us a tour of historical southwest Florida and the history that is embedded in the Ft. Myers area. We learned about what prehistoric creatures roamed the earth such as the giant sloths, huge sharks that were bigger than the largest sharks that now exist, alligators and crocodiles.  There was also a model of Florida that showed the different water levels of Florida at the different times throughout history.  We then learned about the history of the Indians that were in Florida at around the time of 1800s, and the story of Billy Bowlegs. After the museum we drove to the area where multiple high rise projects were proposed to be built but as a result of the recession, only a select few were erected. The few that were built there the first to be built within the downtown city limits, and were difficult to initially fill due to the initial cost of each unit and the uncertainty of the area. Since the initial construction of the high rises, The River District, formally known as downtown Ft. Myers has go under extensive renovations and a revitalization of the city center is well under way.

After a brief rain shower we were allowed to venture off on our own and experience downtowns eclectic culture and architecture. We had enough time to grab a slice of pizza from Downtown Pizza and enjoy our surrounding. (Take it from experience if you are embracing the night life downtown Ft. Myers has offer, Downtown Pizza is a must stop place to eat at two in the morning!)  

Our last stop of our trip was to a corridor behind the Indigo Hotel and the Justice Center. To my surprise was a large mural in which I had never seen before that depicted the culture and history that makes downtown Ft. Myers so special.

For more information on downtown Ft. Myers please visit:

http://www.downtownfortmyers.com/