River Weekly News Will Correct Factual Errors Or Matters of Emphasis and Interpretation That Appear in News Stories
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Happy Easter FREE Take Me Home VOL. 14, NO. 13 From the Beaches to the River District downtown Fort Myers APRIL 3, 2015 Symphony Presents Classic Country: A Salute To Dolly & Patsy April 3-4 Previous Future of Art exhibition shown at The Alliance Chelsea Packard Sam Pacetti Elementary And Middle School he Southwest Florida Symphony will present the next concert in its Pops Art Students Exhibit At The Alliance Series, Classic Country: A Salute to Dolly & Patsy, on Friday, April 3 and TSaturday, April 4 at 8 p.m. Conducted by local favorite Leif Bjaland, A Salute rtworks created by elementary and middle school art students in Lee County are to Dolly & Patsy features great traditional country music made famous by Grand Ole currently gracing the gallery walls at the Alliance for the Arts. This 23rd annual Opry stars Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and others. Apartnership with the Lee Arts Educators Association (LAEA) gives students a “Orchestral instruments have been an integral part of country music,” said Maestro chance to display their work in a formal exhibition. The show features more than 40 continued on page 32 continued on page 32 Upcoming Events At Edison Ford ew at the Edison Ford Winter Estates is Meet the NHorticulturalist, a free daily pro- gram at 9:30 a.m. Meet in the Garden Shoppe. Participants may bring questions or even dying plants. The Propagating Nursery, the Member and Community Plot Garden and the Garden Shoppe are part of the program. Learn what can Founding Females of Fort Myers Art Exhibit Garden Talk: Improving Your Florida Soil grow in a pot or a plot. Get advice from continues through May with Easy Gardening Techniques The Thunderbird Exhibition the experts about soil, watering and prun- combined. called, will be displayed on the historic, antique car collection of Edison Ford. The ing. Group lectures may be scheduled and riverside property of Henry Ford. Owners event includes: See the newly expanded Garden can include refreshments or lunch. To will be on hand to visit with guests and – “Henry and Clara Ford” leading Shoppe and what flowers are in bloom schedule a group tour or for more infor- answer questions. informal tours throughout the event and for sale. Let the horticulturalist help mation, call 334-7419. The Ford Thunderbird lives on in the – Thunderbird Car Talks you choose what is best for your yard or • KIDding Around is planned for April hearts of so many people, in the garages – Everglades BBQ for purchase at the vegetable plot, and if you have time, join 4 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bell Tower of collectors and in the memories of mil- Ford Cottage Lawn a full garden tour every Wednesday and Shops, Fort Myers. It includes free chil- lions. At one of the most beautiful sites in – Live Music with The Flashback Duo Saturday at 10:30 a.m. for an additional dren’s activities. “Professor Pearce” will Fort Myers, this is a fitting tribute to the Thunderbird owners can register cost. be making the popular “slime.” There is legacy of the American automobile and their cars for this special show by calling Other events: always something new to experience at Henry Ford. Leeanne Criswell at 334-7419. There is • The Founding Females Art Exhibit this event. Other activities on-site include The history of the Thunderbird has no fee for registration. will continues through May 28. It opened a bounce house, face-painting, refresh- included two-seaters, roadsters, convert- Admission is free for members, $20 in February in the Edison Caretaker’s ments and musical fun. The Edison Ford ibles and four-door models, hardtops and for adults and $11 for children and House and has been well attended. It not Shoppe at Bell Tower carries educational sedans, more than four million of them. includes an audio tour, admission to only captures the unique attributes, which toys and books for young readers. Over the years there have been several see the homes, gardens, laboratory and these “pioneer women” brought to the • A Ford Thunderbird Exhibition is also different models, but the nostalgia has museum. community, but also presents the works planned for April 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 never waned. • Garden Talk: Improving Your Florida of a well-established group of artists. The p.m. at the Edison Ford Winter Estates. A portion of the proceeds from the Soil with Easy Gardening Techniques will result is a history exhibit and an art exhibit Thunderbirds, or T-Birds, as they are show will benefit the restoration of the continued on page 18 2 THE RIVER - APRIL 3, 2015 Historic Downtown Fort Myers, Then And Now: Half A Century At Five Points by Gerri Reaves, PhD he Liberty National Life Insurance Company building pic- tured here was built on McGregor Boulevard during the T1960s, a decade of major upheaval for Five Points. Now the half-century-old structure is being made “new” again and repurposed for today’s downtown. If you don’t recognize the name Five Points, it’s probably because the name is used infrequently except by Fort Myers natives and history buffs. Today, the complicated multi-level traffic intersection on the western edge of the main business is usually referred to as the Caloosahatchee Bridge overpass rather than Five Points. But the intersection wasn’t always the network of lanes it now is, nor was it quite so daunting to pedestrians and motorists alike. A glance at early maps and photos will show that Five Points was at first the convergence of only four streets: Cleveland Avenue; Main (originally called Oak); Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (originally Anderson Avenue); and McGregor Boulevard (originally named Riverside Drive). Only after the construction of Carson Street at the river in the early 20th century Five years ago, the former Liberty National Life Insurance Company at Five Points was va- did the intersection become five-way. cant. Reflected in windows of the 1966 building from across McGregor Boulevard is the 1885 For many years, the Tootie McGregor Terry memorial fountain at the middle of William Towles House, now a law office. Five Points, placed there a century ago, lent coherence and picturesqueness to the busy intersection. That fountain was not only a landmark but a convenient reference point in giving directions. The fountain’s removal in the 1950s, along with the subsequent clearing of neighborhoods for the construction of the Caloosahatchee Bridge, which was com- pleted in 1964, changed Five Points forever. (The restored fountain is now located at the Fort Myers County Club farther south on McGregor.) The one-story brick Liberty National building, constructed in 1966, was part of that disassembling and reassembling of process that began more than half a century ago. It was an insurance office for nearly four decades. Then an engineering firm oc- cupied it briefly, but for several years now it has been vacant. And, the neighborhood around it has changed significantly, with street widening, building demolitions, the disappearance of residential housing, and an increase in traffic. The former Liberty National is being reinvented as a veterinary clinic. This “recycling” or adaptive reuse of a structure – versus demolition – is a wise use of resources and a principle of historic preservation and sensible redevelopment. The building joins an impressive list of older Five Point structures that also have been preserved, renovated and adapted for a new purpose. Across McGregor stand the impressive 1885 William Towles house and the 1941 former Christian Science Church, both now law offices. Today, the 58-foot-high lanes of the Caloosahatchee Bridge sail above the historic intersection, casting shadows on the paths where ox carts, bicycles, march- ing bands and Model-Ts once traveled, and dogs and horses drank from a marble fountain. Walk down to Five Points and contemplate the dramatic changes that sheer automobile traffic has dictated in historic downtown -- and appreciate the efforts of those who make old buildings new again. Then visit the Southwest Florida Museum of History at 2031Jackson Street to learn more about the changes the mid-twentieth century brought to that part of town. The former insurance building shaded by old oak trees is being renovated and will start its second half-century as a veterinary clinic continued on page 4 photos by Gerri Reaves Read Us Online: www.IslandSunNews.com Contributing Writers Click on The River Jennifer Basey Marion Hauser, MS, RD Advertising Sales Graphic Arts/Production Photographer Kimberley Berisford Ross Hauser, MD Isabel Rasi Ann Ziehl Michael Heider Suzy Cohen Audrey Krienen George Beleslin Kristy See Ed Frank Capt. Matt Mitchell Writers Co-Publishers Rachel Atkins Jim George Patricia Molloy Gerri Reaves, Ph D Shelley Greggs Di Saggau Lorin Arundel Office Coordinator Anne Mitchell Tom Hall Cynthia A. Williams and Ken Rasi Patricia Molloy Jeff Lysiak The River Weekly News will correct factual errors or matters of emphasis and interpretation that appear in news stories. Readers with news, tips, comments or questions, please call (239) 415-7732 or write to: The River Weekly News, 1609 Hendry Street, Suite 15, Fort Myers, FL 33901. Fax number: (239) 415-7702. E-mail: [email protected]. The River Weekly News reserves the right to refuse, alter or edit any editorial or advertisement. PRINTED ON RECYCLED Independently Owned And Operated • COPYRIGHT 2015 The River Weekly News • LORKEN Publications, Inc. PAPER THE RIVER - APRIL 3, 2015 3 Fort Myers Art: Sunday May, 3. The popular food festival held on Fort Myers Beach will Art In The include approximately 20 restaurants plus a live on-stage concert featuring Jo Gardens Returns List and Friends.