FORT MYERS BEACH ARCHES (1924-1979)

SIDE ONE: Before arriving in Fort Myers, Thomas Henley Phillips (1887-1955) invented the modern washing machine and a radio-controlled pilotless airplane. After he sold the patents to General Electric and the Sperry Gyroscope Company, he moved to Florida in 1918 where he became a land developer, selling lots to home buyers for as much as $1000. In 1921, he created the Crescent Beach Casino and dug the first canal on Estero Island. Three years later, the Fort Myers Arches were built as part of a sales pavilion for a grand development Phillips called "San Carlos on the Gulf." The Arches quickly became known as the entrance to Fort Myers Beach. The 1926 Great Miami Hurricane decimated the area, washing away the original road to Matanzas Pass (John Morris Road) and creating San Carlos Island, Hurricane Pass, and Hurricane Bay. The Arches survived, leading Phillips to plead with Lee County to build a new road through them in alignment with a proposed swing bridge across Matanzas Pass. In 1928, the county completed San Carlos Boulevard as a dirt road and installed the bridge. In exchange, Phillips donated the Arches to Lee County. SIDE TWO: The swing bridge across the Matanzas Pass frequently broke down in the decades after its construction in 1928. In the late 1970s, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) developed a plan to replace it, which included demolishing the Fort Myers Beach Arches. This created a public uproar, which led the Fort Myers Beach Jaycees, FDOT, Lee County Commissioners, and the bridge contractor to eventually agree to relocate the 104-foot wide, 27-foot high, 10-foot thick, fossiliferous limestone arches to a county park. Residents celebrated the compromise; however, the bridge wrecking ball and bulldozer subcontractor were not informed, and they destroyed the Arches the week they were scheduled to be moved. Shocked locals took home pieces of the rubble as mementos. Since 1979, rebuilding the Arches has been frequently planned, but never accomplished. A mural was painted on the wall of Town Council Chambers memorializing the Arches, but water damage from Hurricane Ian destroyed the mural in 2022. The mural was recreated by the same artist in 2025 at the new town hall.