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St. Ann Catholic Parish today. The oldest church in Naples was renovated and remodeled in 1990 and dedicated on Jan. 22, 1995.
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St. Ann Catholic Parish on Third Street and Ninth Avenue South in Naples is the oldest church. It was built around 1950 and was named after Saint Ann, in honor of a parishioners’ daughter, Ann Griesedieck, who was killed in an auto accident.
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In 1969, the S.S. Jolley Bridge replaced the Goodland Swing Bridge as the main entrance way to Marco Island.
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Marco Island’s first bridge was the Goodland Swing Bridge.
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From left, Director of Collier County Museums Ron Jamro and Gary Vincent, manager of the Naples Depot, hang a sign touting the USO event that will be held at the Naples Depot while volunteer for the Naples Depot Dave Nordhoff looks on. The USO show will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday.
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During World War II, airmen training to become fighter pilots at the Naples Air Field were treated to USO-sponsored entertainment and food at the old Naples Depot.
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The shoreline of Cape Romano, and a house that is falling into the Gulf.
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Early 1960s aerial of Cape Romano.
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The shoreline of Cape Romano, and a house that is falling into the Gulf.
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Early 1960s aerial of Cape Romano.
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The Naples Daily News is moving again. This time, the move is to Immokalee Road and U.S. 41. See the progress on the new building as of Sept. 25.
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The Naples Daily News was published out of this building at Crayton Cove from the early '50s until 1969.
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Wooten's Airboat Tours are still a favorite activity for visitors. On vacation with his wife and children from Trenton, Ontario, Jeff Urquhart watches the scenery fly by with to his oldest son, Justin, left, while touring the Everglades. Today, visitors can enjoy the animal sanctuary and pet an alligator or see a baby panther.
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Gene Wooten as a teenager circa 1961 or 1962. He is the owner of Wooten's Airboat Tours in Ochopee. His family has operated airboat tours since 1953.
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Cove Inn taken Sept. 19.
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The Cove Inn, see here in this undated photo, was built in 1962, as part of the rebuilding efforts that took place in Naples after Hurricane Donna. Built in a “Neapolynesian”-style popularized by architect William Zimmerman, the hotel went bankrupt years after it opened. It was turned into a condominium hotel in 1972, and became one of the first in Florida.
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A new waterfall was constructed during a renovation of the Marco Island Marriott. It now greets visitors to the hotel.
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Sisters Karla and Sadie Kovacevic and their cousin Katie Carley play in a pool formed by the higher than normal tides at Residents' Beach on Labor Day.
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"Swimmers relaxing on Florida's beaches" reads this undated postcard. Since tourism was a top priority for the Naples Chamber of Commerce, a group conducted a spot check of cars stopping at a Four Corners filling station in 1948. The informal survey revealed that "13 out of 23 cars had no idea that they were within five blocks of the Gulf of Mexico."
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In 1920, the one-room school on Broad Avenue in Naples closed and a new school opened nearby on Fourth Street South, between 10th and 11th Avenues. Originally, the school was two separate buildings, with one room for the first through fifth grades and another for fifth through eighth grades.
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This annex at Gulfview Middle School was built in 1937 and is the oldest standing school in use in the city of Naples. It is now used as a professional development center by the school system and the community.
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Naples' first jail in the early 1940s. This two room building was made of Paw-Paw patch material and cost $327 to build. It was constructed in 1927.
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The corner of 8th Street South and 8th Avenue South was the site of Naples' original jail. Technically not the first jail, which was just a few blocks west, this site has been the headquarters for the fire department since firefighters replaced volunteers. It became a real jail and police department in 1948.
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The Motel Stewart, pictured in this undated photo, was located on the Tamiami Trail, north of the Four Corners and opened in 1952. The 20-unit hotel featured air-conditioning, broken tile flooring and "tastefully and comfortably furnished room," according to a full page advertisement in the Collier County News.
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Motel Stewart is long gone on the Tamiami Trail, replaced by developments such as Orion Bank. But there are still a few small, quaint lodging locations on the Trail like the Lemon Tree Inn, Sea Shell Motel and Sea Court Inn Hotel.
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This is an undated postcard of the world's smallest Post Office in Ochopee, Fla., along the Tamiami Trail, U.S. 41.
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Visitors from Germany share a laugh, while the Postmaster was out to lunch at the World's Smallest Operating Post Office in the United States. It hasn't changed much.
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Golden Gate has experienced rapid growth since development started in the late 1960s. Today it is home to a new library, a new fire station and a community center, which serves at the hub for activities. The community center also has a BMX bike track and a skate park.
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During World War II, airmen training to become fighter pilots at the Naples Air Field were treated to USO-sponsored entertainment and food at the old Naples Depot. The Naples Airport was built during the war as a fighter training base. After the war, it was given to the city of Naples and Collier County. Naples bought out the county in 1949 and, by 1957, the first scheduled air service was offered.
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Today, the Naples Municipal Airport is a fully certified air carrier airport. It is home to two air carriers, fire/rescue services, Mosquito Control Unit, car rental agencies, the Collier County Sheriff’s Aviation Unit, flight schools, the Collier County Humane Society, and other aviation and non-aviation businesses. A staff of 51 oversees flight operations, finance, accounting, administrative, marketing and communications, engineering and planning, maintenance and human resource functions.
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The Marco Island Marriott, then.
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After investing $187 million in renovations and redesigns, the Marco Island Marriott today is a state-of-the-art facility. Dubbed an "island within an island," it features beachfront casual dining to the sophisticated as well as tennis, a spa and large meeting rooms, to name a few.
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After Hurricane Donna wreaked havoc on Naples on Sept. 10, 1960, the area had an influx of insurance money. Combined with tightened zoning and building regulations, the moneys spurred the rebuilding of what the chamber of commerce dubbed a "more beautiful Naples." Several new buildings, including the Cove Inn, which you can see in this photo of Crayton Cove taken in 1967, were developed. You can also see Naples Dock.
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Crayton Cove, as you can tell from this photo from 2005, has changed dramatically since Hurricane Donna changed the landscape in 1960.
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This aerial shot from the 1960s show the train tracks heading to the Naples Depot. The first train steamed into the not-quite-finished depot on Jan. 7, 1927. Fifteen years later, the railroad shut down its service to Naples, and sold off its holdings to Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. On April 21, 1971 the last passenger train pulled out of the Naples Depot. Freight service continued until 1980.
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The site of Naples’ first bank still has a financial institution on it. Bank of America calls it home.
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Naples’ first bank, The Bank of Naples, officially opened Feb. 15, 1949 with a beginning capital of $50,000 and a reserve of $25,000. In desperate need of a bank, several townsfolks got together and opened it, making it virtually owned by Naples. Before it opened, people were forced to bank in Fort Myers.
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