Brick by brick: Fort Myers Beach landmark (re)builders need a hand
It may have taken two years, but I finally got Joe Hensley’s email.
It came after the last story I did on the saga of the Fort Myers Beach arches, which I’m revisiting today (for new developments, read on).
The landmark arches date from 1924, when developer Tom Phillips was dreaming up a grand entrance for his San-Carlos-on-the Gulf-subdivision, with its nearby neoclassical sales pavilion.
Phillips fancied the region’s locally excavated coquina rock, sometimes called coralstone, and had some huge chunks quarried. He had them placed over a rebar-girded concrete base spanning some 70 feet of San Carlos Boulevard’s two divided lanes.
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Just two years later, the 1926 hurricane's massive storm surge carved off what’s now San Carlos Island from what had been mainland where the arches stood, creating Hurricane Pass.
The arches weathered that storm and many others, including 1960’s devastating Hurricane Donna years, becoming a much-photographed icon, until 1979, when the Matanzas Pass Sky Bridge went up. There was a last-ditch effort to save them, including trying to get them added to the National Register of Historic Places. For a while, it looked as if arch advocates just might succeed, but heavy equipment took them down for good.
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A few years ago, after posting a few photos of the arches on Facebook and being overwhelmed at the outpouring, Beach native Steven Ray McDonald got the idea to bring them back.
"It was apparent through pictures and comments on Facebook posts that they were loved and missed by many generations," he wrote in an email explaining his campaign. "The nostalgia of Old Fort Myers Beach was greatly symbolized by those beautiful arches."
McDonald and some old pals, including fellow native Paul Sessions, decided to see if they could somehow re-create them. There’s now a Facebook group, more than 1,000 members strong, and a nonprofit incorporated in 2017. The idea: Restore and preserve a monument that many feel should never have been destroyed, McDonald says, bringing back a part of Old Fort Myers Beach for future generations to enjoy.
Such an effort is not unprecedented around here, he notes: “It was citizens that put neon back on the Arcade Theatre, restored the 'God Is Love' sign, and it will be citizens that find a way to put the arches back up.”
After some gut-wrenching pricetag increases (the total cost is now around $125,000 - more than double the original estimate), the group decided on a fundraising strategy: the Thousand Brick Campaign.
“If we have 1,000 bricks donated, we are funded,” McDonald says. “So we are asking businesses and residents of the area to once again support us by donating a brick. Our small brick, 4 X 8, is $100; our large brick, 8 X 8, is $225.” He realizes that may seem expensive, but points out it’ll be a lasting legacy ”for those proud of being from the area and our visitors.” You can learn more or donate here: https://www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/walkthearches/
Meanwhile, there’s the letter from fellow beach kid and once-upon-a-time paperboy Joe Hensley. It came after I wrote about the arch brigade’s work in 2020, but as sometimes happens, I missed it when it arrived. Then it got buried under the unrelenting flood into my inbox, and only turned back up when I was keyword searching for Steven’s email address.
Joe wrote, “I really enjoyed your article on the FMB Arches. You did leave out one interesting fact about the arches. When boys grew up on FMB, you came of age when you climbed over the arches. At least I don’t remember any girls climbing the arches.
“I really remember my climb. I was at the beach theatre that was owned by the same person who owned the (Beach) Bulletin. When you delivered the Bulletin, you got to attend the movies for free and got to visit the projection room. The latter was really interesting.
“One night after the movie, I decided to climb the arches. When I was at the top, I heard sirens and thought, 'Oh s$&*, they got me.' I hunkered down on the top and the sheriffs drove under the arch and kept on going. It turned out to be the night that the Galloways were killed on the beach. What a shame that was. An interesting experience to say the least."
Help rebuild a landmark
Learn more: https://mickyds2002.wixsite.com/restorethearches
Donate to the Thousand Brick Campaign here: https://www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/walkthearches/
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Beach arches may be gone, but they're not forgotten
