Historic Everglades bank building nearing construction phase of its restoration

The Everglades Bank Building has been much more than a bank since it opened in 1927. Actually, it was only a bank for 35 years.

As it works to restore the building on Broadway Avenue, the Everglades Society for Historic Preservation (ESHP) plans to celebrate its history of being the first bank in Collier County, a boarding house, a newspaper office and a bed and breakfast.

"We really want to honor the people who kept it going", President Patty Huff said in an interview at the building.

ESHP is holding a community update on the building Friday with West Palm Beach-based REG Architects, which will make a presentation of renderings and construction plans.

A little history

Everglades Bank was established in 1923, the same year Collier County was established, and the same year Everglades City was named the first county seat by Florida legislature as promised to county namesake Barron Gift Collier who built Tamiami Trail to connect the Everglades with Dade County and owned more than a million acres in the Sunshine State.

The bank was first housed in a small wood building on North Broad. It was moved to the two-story building facing in the direction of the Barron River in 1927, where it would stay until 1962.

On the second floor were the offices of the Collier County News (now the Naples Daily News), the District School Board and Humble Oil Company.

Residents throughout Collier County had to drive to what was then the Town of Everglades to do their banking or go to the county courthouse to conduct business. When the county seat was moved to Naples in 1962, Everglades Bank also moved – but to Immokolee.

The building was converted into a boarding house for a couple of years.

In 1964, William "Buck" Dawson bought it with plans for a tourist attraction that would include a "Presidential Fishing Hall of Fame." His vision never came to fruition and the building was sold to Rusty Rupis in 1979. She and her husband published the Everglades Echo in the building until retiring in 1988.

In 1996, Robet Flick bought the building. His daughter, Patty, opened a bed and breakfast. She was responsible for getting Everglades Bank Building added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, Huff said.

The bed and breakfast was open until 2017, closing a few months before Hurricane Irma hit on Sept. 10. Irma flooded the building and ruined the antique furnishings. For years, Huff had a hutch in the front room that showed how high the water came in.

Flick donated the building to ESHP in 2021.

That's when Huff and the ESHP board got to work – raising money, writing grants and making plans.

Raising money and determining if building could be saved

First thing was a comprehensive structural analysis to determine that the building can be saved. Most of it can be saved. Not the back stairs – but the floors, the old cypress and pine floors, which Huff calls extraordinary. Those can be saved.

"We're going to be able to turn them back to where they were," she said.

There is much work to be done.

The building needed a new roof, so that was next to protect from further damage, Huff said. Then there was the termite damage. That has since been mitigated. New holes in the walls and ceilings are where REG recently did some more studying of the structure.

Actual reconstruction is set to begin in May and take 18 months," Huff said. The current estimated cost of the renovations is $4.72 million, according to reconstruction plans.

"We've raised well over $100,000," Huff said, that's just local fundraising. "Locally we've had such great support, whether it's someone giving $25 or $25,000."

With the help of a grant writer, ESHP has been awarded $53,000 from Florida Division of Historical Resources and $3 million from the federal Division of Housing and Urban Development.

"We asked for $3 million, and we got $3 million," Huff said.

And last week, ESHP applied for another state grant … for $1.559 million.

"If that's not enough, we'll go back to the state and federal government," Huff said. ESHP is still accepting donations from the public as well and continues to hold fundraisers and accepting volunteer work.

Artist John Apte, who lived in Everglades City moved back to Maine, and donated many paintings and photographs taken from all over Collier County to the ESHP so they could sell them.

"We've had people offer to paint the building when we get to that stage," Huff said. "And my landscaper is doing it pro bono. … The whole community has been great."

An old look with a new life

Outside, the building will be painted back to the original white from its current green.

A second-floor outdoor patio will be built on the side of the building overlooking the historic Rod & Gun Club restaurant and hotel and the Barron River.

All 20 windows will be replaced with historically accurate but also impact windows, Huff said.

Inside, visitors will walk in and see a new grand staircase near the entrance as they enter the new Everglades Visitor Center. A small reception area will be manned by volunteers as it is now just across the street, there to answer questions and point guests in the direction of their desired adventures in the Everglades.

Huff said there will be a small cafe as well, but nothing big enough to compete with local eateries.

And in the back inside the old vault, ESHP will fulfill a promise by creating The Bob Flick Theater.

"That was the one thing Bob Flick asked for – that we play 'Wind Across the Everglades' because he was in it as an extra," Huff said. The 1958 film starred Burl Ives, Christopher Plummer, Chana Eden and Gypsy Rose Lee and was the film debut of Peter Falk, according to movie site IMDB. Local Seminole leader Cory Osceola and his daughter Mary Moore Osceola also appeared in the film, according to a Florida Seminole Tourism. Together, they told a story about battling bird poachers in the Everglades.

The rest of the first floor likely will hold local art and historical photos on its walls, Huff said.

"All of these people who tried to love this building and protect it will be honored here," she said.

The rest of the floor will be left open with moveable seating and tables.

"We want to leave this pretty flexible so we can do a lot of different things" – from local receptions for artists to small concerts community events and weddings.

In addition to the new staircase, an elevator will be installed to the second floor with its patio, conference room, manager's office, study room (think library), and community studio spaces for yoga classes, arts and crafts and book clubs.

As Huff looks around and explains the vision, she said, "we want to bring back the high standards that Barron Collier had for the town."

How to attend the 'Welcome Back Talk'

Friday's "Welcome-Back Talk" about REG Architects' "Visions of the Bank Building" will showcase the company's latest renderings and an explanation of work in progress. The event starts at 2 p.m. in the Lighthouse at Everglades Isle, 803 Collier Avenue, Everglades City.

The event is free but registration is required. For information and to RSVP, email ESHP@hotmail.com or phone Marya at (239) 451-0265.

After the formal presentation with Q & A session, there will be tours of the old building, limited to 20 people for a donation of $20 each.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Historic Collier County Bank of Everglades building renovation details