St. Francis Xavier Church Steeple - Ft. Myers, FL - Relocated Structures on Waymarking.com

Address:
2133 Heitman St.
Ft. Myers, FL USA
33902

The plaque inside the steeple reads, in part: "For decades, St. Francis Xavier stood as the only catholic parish in Southwest Florida. Mission priests arrived as early as 1878, but it was Father William J. Tyrell, S.J., who built the parish's first church in 1910. Its renovated steeple stands here today."

A plaque on the outside of the steeple reads, in part: "In gratitude to the families of Charles W. Flint and Thomas F. Doyle, Jr., who removed this steeple from the original St. Francis Xavier Church, cared for it for over 40 years, and were instrumental in returning it "home".

From the Flint & Doyle website:
In 1960 the St. Francis Xavier Church Steeple in Ft. Myers was damaged by a hurricane. Tom Doyle, Jr. removed the steeple and stored it in the Flint and Doyle equipment yard where it remained until 2004. When the congregation wanted the steeple restored, to use as a monument, second generation owner Tommy Doyle, III of Flint and Doyle Structural Movers, LLC, completed this historical project. Yes, some 44 years later ... here's the story.

In 2005 the steeple was returned to the parking lot of St. Francis Xavier. While being stored in the parking lot a base was constructed and rotten wood and damaged copper from the steeple were repaired. While this repair was being performed the steeple faced another Hurricane when Dennis hit Ft. Myers. Miraculously the steeple survived some 100 mile per hour winds with out further damage.

While hurricane Dennis delayed the project once again, the steeple was finally placed on its new foundation in the early fall of 2005. Within a few weeks another hurricane, Wilma, hit the Ft. Myers area ... again the steeple incurred no damage. This incredible story made the cover of Structural Mover Magazine in December 2006 ... Awarded as The "Most Unusual Move"

Original Location: N 26° 38.274 W 081° 52.315 How it was moved: Wheels / Dolly / Truck Type of move: Inside City Building Status: Public Related Website: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Tell of your visit. Post an original photograph if possible.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/08/2017 BoomersOTR visited it 11/11/2012 petendot visited it 11/25/2010 sfwife visited it

View all visits/logs