Seemingly cementing the demise of the deteriorating
downtown, a couple of recessions hit businesses and residents
hard in early to mid-80s. Then the Sunrise Theatre
closed in 1983, followed by the enticing lure of the county’s
first indoor mall dangling familiar national retailers before
shoppers in 1984, miles west of the old business district.
Main Street Fort Pierce, a non-profit dedicated to downtown
revitalization, formed in 1988. The Main Street
approach to revitalizing historic downtowns through preservation
plus economic development was created by the
National Trust for Historic Preservation in the 1970s. There
are currently more than 1,200 Main Street programs active
throughout the nation.
CHIPPING AWAY
Little by little, Main Street Fort Pierce and city of Fort
Pierce officials began chipping away at the deterioration.
Facades were repaired and painted, and in some cases owners,
like Dick Coke who bought the 1924 Raulerson Building
and helped start Main Street, used paint to brush on colors
and lines delineating friezes and architectural details.
The 1925 Gates & Gates building on Orange Avenue
designed by William Hatcher was painstakingly restored
by owner Philip Gates, whose grandfather had built it.
DOWNTOWN
9
PHOTO BY GREGORY ENNS
The 1925 Gates & Gates building designed by famed architect William
Hatcher was restored to match its original appearance over a three-year
period following the 2004 hurricanes.
>>
1500s 1837 Spaniards arrive in Florida
1882
Benjamin Hogg builds trading
post at edge of Edgartown.
The post years later becomes
P.P. Cobb building.
1894
Henry Flagler’s railroad
reaches the area
1905
St. Lucie County created
1909
Courthouse built
1923
Sunrise Theatre opens
1926
Land bust foreshadows
depression for Florida
1935
Post office moves to 500
Orange Avenue in 1935
1960
Indian River Jr. College
opens in Fort Pierce. A
new courthouse opens
downtown, replacing the
1909 courthouse.
1984
Orange Blossom Mall opens
near interstate.
During second
Seminole War, military
fort established named
after Lt. Col. Benjamin
K. Pierce.
1885
First Post Office
established under the
name of Fort Pierce in
Hogg’s store.
1988
Main Street Fort Pierce forms
2004
Two hurricanes hit
St. Lucie County.
1901
Fort Pierce, formerly
called Can Town
because Florida Canning
Company operated a
seafood canning plant
there, is created as a
municipality on Feb. 2.
1920s
Land boom brings in
thousands of tourists
and permanent
residents. Many of
current downtown
historic structures
are built.
1940s
During WWII the
Navy begins
amphibious training
on Fort Pierce
beaches.
1970s
Retail shops move westward
1983
Sunrise Theatre closes
1990s
Downtown Fort Pierce starts
to renovate and turn around
2006
Sunrise Theatre reopens in
January. That same year,
plans announced for $65
million federal courthouse
downtown.
2008
Renaissance on the River,
the first residential
development to open
downtown since the land
boom of the 1920s, opens.