Entry #4: Downtown Fort Myers

The word "downtown" to me is usually the center of where things are happening in a city. For example, in my town, downtown is the center of activity. People go downtown for the fourth of July, New Years Eve, St. Patty's day, etc. There's usually something going on downtown, specifically for holidays.

Down town areas have changed over time because cities are bigger and are more spread out. While in most cities the down town area has a lot to offer, its usually more for personal reasons than business. For example, the bank isn't just on Main Street anymore, neither is the theatre or your favorite clothing stores. These places have moved to more central locations through out the town.

Downtown Fort Myers is currently experiencing a renaissance due to the the fact that there was a decrease in visitors to the down town area. This area had very Little to offer people until a few years ago as it underwent renovations. Now there are a lot of places to eat, bars, clubs, theatres and shops to attract people. There is also an Olympic museum which was really cool.

Some of the more prominent architectural features is the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center that has coral removed from the ocean as a kind of stucco on it. There is also a mural demonstrating a concise history of Florida. Unfortunately its kind of hidden away and not easily viewable from the street. There is also a large statue of Edison, Ford and Firestone by the river. The buildings in down town Fort Myers have a deco feel, very similar to south beach. Whereas others have more of a Mediterranean feel to them.

In their renovations, Fort Myers is aspiring to invoke more of a pedestrian spirit thus inspiring people to walk more and drive less around the down town area. they have put certain things closer together so that people are more inclined to walk from place to place rather than drive. This is obviously sustainable because it encourages consumers to consume less gas.

Downtown Fort Myers is very historical, obviously there's a statue of Edison, Ford and Firestone who all vacationed in south west Florida. There is also a theatre in downtown called the Edison theatre. It's inoperable now but a tribute to it remains.

Fort Myers economy has seen ups and downs as has any other here in the United States. Now its economy has improved because the city has invested money into reinventing the down town area. Before the renovations however, downtown was not a very attractive place for the locals or even tourists. However, now that they are investing the economy of the down town area has improved.