Olde Naples Real Estate Offers Historic Appeal with Luxury Style

Naples was founded during the late 1880s by former Confederate general and Kentucky U.S. Senator John Stuart Williams and his partner, Louisville businessman Walter N. Haldeman, the publisher of the Louisville Courier-Journal. It had grown into a resort town by the turn of the century. The city got its name from developers who advertised it in the north as to have "a bay comparable to that of Naples (Italy)".

From a Driving Tour of Olde Naples...
At 670 Gulf Shore Boulevard (1935) is a two story Spanish-Mediterranean house with a big garage and standard red tile roof, designed by Addison Mizner, the builder of Boca Raton. Naples is one of the rare West Coast spots with Mizner homes. Another Mizner gem is at the foot of 8th Avenue, the Timken House (circa 1925), a two story Spanish-Mediterranean. As you reach 9th Avenue, you are nearing the original Naples development. At 926 Gulf Shore Boulevard is the Old Hewitt House (circa 1913), a one story frame heavily shuttered beach place. Tenth Avenue was the site of the Old Indian Canal. At 1144 Gulf Shore Boulevard is the Mandalay House (circa 1908), reached only by alleyway, and a large beach place. Nearby at 88 11th Avenue is the Whayne House (circa 1933), one of the earliest luxury residences built in the Olde Naples neighborhood.

Driving east on 11th Avenue across Gulf Shore, you'll reach Olde Naples, several blocks of interesting shops and restaurants mostly along Third Street South. A delightful board and batten home is Martha's Cottage (circa 1922) at 205 11th Avenue. Turning south on Third Street, you'll pass Naples' oldest commercial district. Among the key buildings is the: Naples Mercantile Building (1919), 1117 Third Street, a two-story frame structure covered with stucco. On the opposite side of he road is the Olde Naples Building (1922), 1148 Third Street, the headquarters of the Naples Improvement Company, the first town hall, and the village's first movie house.

Turn West on Broad Avenue, which has many old structures. At 107 Broad Avenue is the Dr. Earl Baum House (1947), home of the doctor and naturalist whose collections since 1922 attracted countless wildlife lovers to region to study. The McKee House (1928), 53 Broad Avenue, is a two story frame beach house with a stamped, metal roof. Across the road at 38 Broad Avenue, is the John S. Jones House (1922), an Ohio railroad and coal executive who served as head of the Naples Improvement Company.

Continue South of Gulf Shore to 12th Avenue where you see the symbol of the community, the Naples Pier (1960), at the foot of 12th Avenue. Started in 1888 as a passenger dock, once with a narrow gauge railroad and then with a post office, the pier has been rebuilt after hurricanes in 1910, 1926, and 1960, and in 1922 after a terrible fire. At 60 12th Avenue is the General John S. Williams House (1886), built by the first developer of Naples and sold to his friend William Haldeman who did most of the additions: seven bedrooms and four baths.

Continue East on 12th Avenue to see the historic Palm Cottage (1890), 137 12th Avenue, the two story tabby home of Walter N. Haldeman who built the first hotel right where 12th Avenue ends at Gordon. Louisville Editor Henry Watterson was an owner, but today the house serves as a museum and center for the Collier County Historical Society. You may wish to shop at Olde Naples or continue down Gulf Shore Boulevard.

Other historic home in Olde Naples to note are Sea Villa (1887), 40 13th Avenue, once a three story house built by Walter N. Haldeman, publisher of the Louisville Courier-Journal; Sagamore Cottage (1919) 14th Avenue, a long one story home owned by Philadelphia cotton broker N. P. Sloan, who owned a Western gold mine called Sagamore; and the Sloan-Trout (1918), on 12th Avenue at Gordon Drive, a two story board and batten with wood strips covering the wall gaps.

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