Blog #10

I didn’t grow up here in Southwest Florida, but the field trip to the Southwest Florida Museum of History helped me to learn a lot about the history of Ft. Myers. My wife grew up in Lehigh Acres and she told me that going to Ft. Myers was a big deal when she was younger because that’s where all of the stores were, particularly the mall. Before the field trip I had been to downtown Ft. Myers a few times, my wife loves Centennial Park. It appears that downtown Ft. Myers flourished for a time period, but like everything, it’s fire went out for a while due to the economy and morale. More activities are being held downtown in order to draw more attention to the businesses and the area. The window shops are designed to rekindle the “pedestrian” spirit. The museum was very informative as far as the natives and their tools and ways of life. The iron lung was fascinating and my sons especially loved the war artifacts. As far as sustainability goes, downtown Ft. Myers can relate because it is resilient and appears to be bouncing back. I would love to see it flourish as the downtown area where I live in Naples.