DOWNTOWN
PHOTO BY PORFIRIO SOLORZANO
Fort Pierce is reinventing itself, capitalizing on its waterfront location, renovating historic buildings and putting up new construction. In the distance on
the right is the new five-story Mediterranean-style clerk of the circuit court building.
From its beginnings as a central trading post to today’s
new live-in-town philosophy, Fort Pierce is returning to
its roots and reinventing itself
BY SUSAN BURGESS
Like an old lady lifting her skirts and discovering her
8
legs still know how to dance, downtown Fort Pierce
is rediscovering herself, returning to her roots, and
reinventing herself along the way.
The city, which sprang to life as a dusty riverfront pioneer
town in 1901, prospered, grew and, flouncing her skirts, covered
an ever larger area, spreading westward. But age and
urban sprawl took their toll after decades of growth, and the
vigor of the downtown gave way to lethargic malaise as
shopping centers and big box retailers opened to the west.
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Fort Pierce’s
REBIRTH