Ian destroyed buildings, but didn’t touch this iconic sign in Fort Myers. Take a look

Madeleine Marr
·2 min read
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Streets of downtown in Fort Myers get flooded due to the surge of the Caloosahatchee River as Hurricane Ian hits the southwest coast of Florida as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.

It made it through the rain — as well as the punishing wind, terrifying floods and catastrophic storm surge.

An iconic sign in Fort Myers on the corner of McGregor Boulevard and South Grove Avenue, about 10 minutes from downtown, was still standing after Hurricane Ian tore through the area earlier late last month.

Hurricane Ian battered Southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm, making landfall Sept. 28. Millions were left without power, businesses destroyed and thousands homeless. The death toll is more than 100.

Recent pictures show the simple, nondescript sign (neon when lit) that reads “God is Love” in all caps.

George H. Gruesbeck, a Seventh-Day Adventist, reportedly had the sign mounted in his front yard back in 1943. According to the News-Press, the owners of the home in the late 1950s, Clyde and Margaret Daughtry, found the sign found the sign in rough shape in their garage and had it duplicated and mounted in front of the 1925 house at 1402 S. Grove Ave. They added to the bottom of the side: “In Memory of George Gruesbeck.”

Aside from some toppled trees and debris surrounding the beloved landmark, all seems well with the sign.

This little piece of history has stood the test of time (and weather), surviving hurricanes Donna, Andrew, Charley, Wilma and Irma. It was reportedly repaired various times over the years.

The home has since gone through a few owners. In 2013, the place went into foreclosure, but the neon-lit beacon remained. To make sure the letters stayed lit, local philanthropist T. Wainwright Miller Jr. arranged for the sign to always be in working order and for its electricity bills be paid, USA Today reported.

Kenneth Walker, president of the John E & Aliese Price Foundation, which takes care of its maintenance, marveled at the sign’s staying power after Ian.

“Isn’t that amazing,” he told WGCU, the Southwest Florida PBS station. “It’s a sign that God is still in control.”

According to real estate website Trulia, anyone who owns the house must keep the sign out front. The site says that the house is not occupied and is in disrepair.