Pieces of old Fort Myers Beach arch being put to use in new structure

An arch that once welcomed people to Fort Myers Beach is making a comeback, and pieces of the old will become part of the new.

When a structure so large and iconic is destroyed, where does all that rubble eventually end up? In this case, it was on farmland in Buckingham, where 20 tons worth of the 100-year-old stone sits in the shade.

Rob Williams’ “arch story,” as he calls it, goes back decades. His grandfather, a Fort Myers Beach builder, bought the remnants of the arches in an auction after the beloved structure’s controversial demolition in 1979.

“It has rebar going throughout it so it’s a pretty sturdy structure,” Williams said.

It’s a structure that meant a lot to many people, all of who have their own arch story to tell.

“That’s where they’d go after school, or at nighttime to hang out.”

There were so many stories, in fact, that a group of longtime locals banded together to build a new, smaller, commemorative arch.

“I’m like, if you’re looking for material, I have quite a bit of material,” Williams said.

The new arch in Bowditch Regional Park will have its old stones, the ones from the arch stories.

Williams said his grandfather would be pleased to see those stones back on an arch to honor Fort Myers Beach history.

“If you told me in the ’70s when I was climbing on ’em that I’d be in my 50s still looking out for them, I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said.

To fundraise for the new arch, the group “Restore Fort Myers Beach Arches” is giving you a chance to have your own arch story. You can donate a brick, which you can have personally inscribed. It’ll lay right under the new arch.

Williams said he’ll donate a brick, which will have his grandparents’ names inscribed.