Movement to restore historic FMB arches gains momentum

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FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla.- A group of people is looking to restore a piece of Fort Myers Beach history by bringing back the arches that were once the gateway to the beach.

The arches were torn down to build the Matanzas Pass Bridge and some thought the beach landmark was gone forever.

“I thought when they were taken down they were gone,” said Frances Santini who has lived on Fort Myers Beach since 1933. She vividly remembers driving under the arches at the entrance of the beach.

“When I came under those arches, I knew I was home and that was always a great feeling,” said Santini.

Parts of the old arches can still be found on San Carlos Island.

“If that is at all possible to gather up the original rock of the arches and put them onto the new ones, that would be outstanding,” said Paul Sessions, one of the people spearheading the project.

Sessions still gets emotional thinking about the day the arches were torn down.

“I still remember the day that the news reported they were torn down; that was heartbreaking,” Sessions said.

Pictures have been posted on the group’s Restore Fort Myers Beach Arches Facebook page, showing the arches which date back as far as 1924 until they were torn down in 1979.

“You know when you go to Disney World and you’re getting there and you are seeing all this stuff, that’s how it was here,” said Jacqueline Milliner.

The proposed location for the new arches is on the mainland side of the bridge to the beach.

“Just like all bad children, we climbed over them just to say we did it!” Santini said.

The project is getting attention from as far as Arizona. The group is working on creating drawings that are required before they can present anything to the state. The group has already been in contact with the Florida Department of Transportation.

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