| |
||
 |
||
| |
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Sanibel & Captiva Islands |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Advanced Search
Featured Property
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Best Bets for Arts, Culture and History
Art is as alive today on these shores as it was during prehistoric times.
Small-but-sweet museums chronicle Spanish explorers’ search for eternal youth, pioneers’ hardscrabble lives and the transformation of fishing villages into fashionable resorts that today put on a respectable show of visual and performing arts.
 Reproduction of a Calusa artifact |
MOTI as it’s known locally, is in the old Pine Island Library building, and tells the story of this mainly agricultural and fishing island from the time of the Calusa Indians through pioneer homesteaders.
 Mound Key |
Tours of this island, believed to be the ancestral home of the Calusa Indian kings, are available through Koreshan State Historic Site and private tour guide companies.
 Edison & Ford Winter Estates |
The Fort Myers winter homes of good friends Thomas Edison and Henry Ford have recently undergone a $9 million renovation, completed in late 2005.
 Williams Academy Black History Museum |
Learn about the Fort Myers area’s vibrant African-American community through its people. See a 1940s-era classroom, as well as early household items. Displays include audio biographies of prominent citizens. A separate building houses African artifacts.
 Local theater |
Venues such as the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, Florida Rep, Schoolhouse Theater and Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall showcase high-caliber talent from near and far. 2007 offerings include: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Rainmaker, Run for Your Wife and The Producers.
 Koreshan State Historic Site |
Established in 1893 by Dr. Cyrus Teed, the remnants of this utopian community provide a window into Estero's frontier days. Delight in the sudden expanse of formal gardens and restored buildings – an island of civility pushing back the Florida wilds.
 Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum |
Visit this still-working lighthouse built in 1890 and the adjacent assistant keeper's cottage, now a museum of Gasparilla Island's intriguing history. Nearby Whidden's Marina offers a glimpse into the area's seafaring past.
 Useppa woman, Barbara Sumwalt Museum |
This gem of a museum's star attractions are Useppa Man and Woman. Other topics: the history of tarpon fishing and the use of the island to select CIA Bay of Pigs operatives.
 Artifacts at the Southwest Florida Museum of History |
Recreations of Florida's prehistoric creatures and peoples segue into Fort Myers' mercantile, citrus and riverfront history.
 The Calusa Heritage Trail (Pineland Complex) |
Follow the interpretive trail into the past. With the aid of illustrated signs or a guided tour, see how the Calusa lived in this well-preserved coastal complex.
If you go...
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, 239-481-4849, 800-440-7469, www.bbmannpah.com/
Barbara Sumwalt Museum, 239-283-9600, www.useppa.com/indexb.html
Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum and Whidden’s Marina, 941-964-0060, barrierislandparkssociety.org/lighthouse.html
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, 239-278-4422, 800-475-7256, www.broadwaypalm.com/
The Calusa Heritage Trail (Pineland Complex), 239-283-2062, www.flmnh.ufl.edu/anthro/sflarch/pineland.htm
Edison & Ford Winter Estates, 239-334-7419, 888-377-9475, www.edison-ford-estate.com/
Florida Rep, 239-332-4488, 877-787-8053, www.floridarep.org/
Koreshan State Historic Site, 239-992-0311, www.floridastateparks.org/
Mound Key, 239-992-0311, floridastateparks.org/
Museum of the Islands, 239-283-1525, www.museumoftheislands.com/
Schoolhouse Theater, 239-472-6862, www.theschoolhousetheater.com/
Southwest Florida Museum of History, 239-321-7430, www.cityftmyers.com/museum/index.aspx
Williams Academy Black History Museum, 239-332-8778
You Might Also Be Interested In:
 The southern boundary of Lee County sports remote island beaches such as Bonita Beach, considered to be some of the most beautiful anywhere. In Bonita Springs and Estero, things to ...
More... |
|
From inventors’ homes and a family dinner theater to nature walks and hands-on eco-tours, families love the educational adventures awaiting them on The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel. ...
More... |
|
Liked this article? Order your free 2008 Traveler’s Guide and receive 168 pages of intriguing features and complete planning information.More... |
|||
| Or search the article library for other stories. | |||||||
 | My suitcase contains 0 items |
