Smith Cottage receives historic designation
Town officials and Fort Myers Beach residents held a ceremony to present a historical designation to the Smith Cottage at 385 Estero Blvd. Thursday morning.
The island mahogany-built beach style cottage, owned and rented out by Beach dignitary Roxie Smith, received a plaque for its construction in 1950. It was originally a two-story gulf front cottage with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a large fireplace.
Councilman Joe Kosinski welcomed all in attendance to the “historic event” and Historical Preservation Board Chairperson Rochelle Kay led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance, before Rev. Alice Marcrum –Roxie’s good friend– gave the invocation.
“This house has wonderful memories which Miss Roxie will share with you. My family got to experience the wonderful hospitality just this past Christmas. This is a place of great joy,” said Rev. Marcrum.
Town Community Development Director Walter Fluegel made introductions before passing the torch to Roxie, who is the chairperson of the Historic Advisory Committee.
“(The cottage) has been through 4 hurricanes and many no-name storms, and has taken on a personality all of its own. No one has ever lived in this house. It’s always been a rental vacation home,” she said. “From the day that we got it, it was the most popular place of the whole Pink Shell Resort. It was too popular to stay in.”
Roxie’s father, Robert (“Bob”) Davis purchased the cottage –one of 64 cottages in the 229-unit resort at Pink Shell– in 1952, as a Christmas present for his wife, Johnaviere. The cottage exchanged hands in ownership a few times afterwards, but Roxie re-purchased it and, in 2002, it was relocated on the Estero Bay side and settled beside a sister cottage.
Roxie pointed out “special” parts of the cottage, including the mahogany woodwork, the house layout, an aquarium with live seahorses and the brick fireplace.
“It had the biggest shower I have ever seen, so we cut that in half and made a bathroom for both sides,” she said.
The cottage –although still a rental– is now considered a hospitality house for the Smith family. The ceremony hostess mentioned it was rented for $72.50 per night in 1976.
Roxie showed a few photos displayed on an easel board and admitted to being very emotional about the cottage and its memories.
“I could never see this cottage ever being moved off the island or being destroyed,” she said. “The whole idea of the historic designation and plaques is to, hopefully, get others who think enough of our history to save their properties. I can’t explain the feeling that you get, but you just know it is the right thing to do.”
The Smith Cottage, affectionately called, “Big Six” by family members, is an example of the Modern Temporary Style, which indicated the significant flat roof with broad flat eaves, and displays the horizontal siding with the asymmetrical façade with the typical lack of exterior decorative detail of this style.
This is the sixth structure on the island to be designated historical. The Town in conjunction with the Historic Preservation Board and the Historic Advisory Committee has presented plaques for the Carter Cottage, The Rain Barrel, The Annex, The Historic Cottage as well as Beach Elementary School.
It is part of the continuing effort to identify structures of historic significance on Estero Island.