Sharpening the Arches
The Arches will not die. They may have been demolished in 1979 to make way for the Matanzas Pass Bridge but the 26-feet high, 104-feet wide arching stone structure that served as the entryway to Fort Myers Beach since the 1920s wants to make a mini-comeback a century later.
Restore Fort Myers Beach Arches founder Ray McDonald, who now calls Arizona home, has led persistent efforts to recreate the Arches on Fort Myers Beach getting Lee County to agree to a 20-feet wide, 10-feet and six inches high replica at Bowditch Point Park.
Meanwhile, the remnants of the stone Arches that McDonald helped ship to Buckingham in northeastern Lee County from a Fort Myers Beach property three years ago, were getting a haircut this past.week. McDonald announced that his nonprofit organization contracted with engineers from LCM Structural Engineering to arrange for the cutting of the surviving stones so that they can be used with the Bowditch Point Park replica.
Accu-cut Concrete Services Inc, of Clearwater, did the cutting.
“We determined we could reuse the original surfaces on the new (Arches),” McDonald said. “It has always been part of the plan. So this is a milestone in our project. We are capturing the original surfaces of the Arches in two to three-inch slabs.”
McDonald said there were 17 original stones saved from the Arches weighing 60,000 pounds. He said they were 3-D imaged before being transported to Buckingham from their original storage location of 40 years.
“We looked high and low for a company that had the ability and know-how to cut 100-year-old steel reinforced concrete and still leave the applied Coquina shell limestone in- tact,” McDonald said.
In April, the group is planning to hold a Rock The Arches Music Festival to complete fundraising efforts for the Arches replica. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of when the Arches opened.
Lee County will handle the construction of the work, with Restore Fort Myers Beach contributing the funding. McDonald said there are still 300 etched commemorative bricks available to be purchased to fund the work.
“We could not be more pleased with the work,” he said. “I am very proud of the effort and accomplishments of our group.”
McDonald hopes the Arches replica can be a tourist attraction. His group has already formed a marketing message for it: “Take a picture under the Arch, and you will return to Fort Myers Beach.”