Naples Depot Museum to reopen after Hurricane Ian repairs

There were more people on that first train than there were residents in Naples at that time, said Naples Depot Museum Manager Lisa Marciano, pointing to the photograph of the first Orange Blossom Special that pulled up outside the building on Jan. 7, 1927. “From there, it just opened the place up!” she said.  

For a little more than three years and three months, the public hasn’t been able to marvel at this and numerous other examples of how transportation in many of its forms was pivotal to the growth of Naples, plus other local history. Fortunately, the wait is nearly over.  

The landmark institution — in an original Seaboard Air Line Railway station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the city’s oldest remaining structures — will hold its reopening celebration beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14. 

About 3.5 feet of water, including tree branches and leaves, were unwelcome guests from Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022, and the museum closed immediately afterward. Damage included losing 10 display cases and three entire exhibit areas.  

The first major recovery activity was moving all of the exhibits that were in the front of the approximately 8,000-square-foot facility at 1015 Fifth Avenue S. to the elevated back section. “It served as a holding area,” Marciano said. “Everything had to be assessed, wiped down and cleaned.” 

The subsequent work led to some changes in presentations. A wagon that members of the Revs Institute helped move off of its destroyed platform is now in a new location in the museum. The figure of the Seminole Tribe member standing in a dugout canoe was moved to a “more realistic spot and pose.” The Naples Hotel lobby desk, now perched on a new platform, affords “a better visual experience.” The A/C in the 1947 Seaboard Budd Observation Tavern Car — one of three rail vehicles on the property, along with a 1920 baggage car and 1909 caboose — was repaired. “Everything in its interior is as historically accurate as possible,” Marciano said.  

After being awarded a $1.268 million contract by the Board of County Commissioners early this year, Panzica Construction Co. of Bonita Springs executed extensive renovation work which included restoration of exterior and interior finishes, specialty millwork and other components.  

“New walls, doors, windows, paint, electricity … the works. A total refresh, being cognizant of the historical nature of the property,” Marciano said.  

“It’s a journey through time,” she said of the positioning of displays while providing a sneak peek before Christmas amid final work before the reopening. “We touch on railroads first, then Florida’s first people, then onward, with a focus on different modes of transportation.”  

Upon entering, there’s a flow of items, including a replica of a station master’s office; a Black passengers’ waiting area in recognition of the segregated times; a Native American room with Paleoindian and Calusa and Seminole Indian artifacts. Early vehicles and crafts including a mule wagon, Model T car, mullet fishing boat, Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible and swamp buggy; and a mounted engine nose and propeller of an AT-6 Texan fighter plane used to train pilots during World War II at Naples Airport. 

A special Railroads at Work exhibit, adapted from an Association of American Railroads’ booklet from the 1950s and on display through May 2, will “especially appeal to devout rail buffs,” she said.  

The onsite Lionel Train Museum remains a favorite with children as they can “play both conductor and passenger” on Fridays and Saturdays with its station command post and the rail cars that circle the museum. To engage youngsters even more, a new, free children’s activity and coloring book will be available to families upon entering the museum. It activates a scavenger hunt-like experience that can earn prizes. 

Upcoming special programming includes Naples Train Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 14 and a lecture by Collier County NAACP President Vincent Keeys on March 24. 

Also, a Black History Baggage Car, featuring artifacts, objects and oral histories highlighting African Americans’ contributions to the county, is expected to debut within six months. 

“We’ve done at least 15 [oral histories] so far with more to come,” Marciano said. 

New purpose 

Passenger service to the station, the southernmost terminus on Florida’s west coast, ended in 1971, as did freight service in the late 1970s. (The rail line, which ran parallel to Goodlette-Frank Road, was removed in 1980.) The building then became a community center under the stewardship of Southwest Heritage Inc., part of Collier County Museum system in, 2005 and then Naples Depot Museum on Jan. 7, 2011. 

A visitor asked Marciano about her personal favorite among all exhibits. 

“It’s a tie among at least three,” said the graduate of Lely High School who earned a master’s degree in museum studies from John Hopkins University and was manager of the Marco Island Historical Museum from 2011 to 2014. “I’d have to go with the building itself … the Spanish Mediterranean design. I love architecture, as well, and have developed a love of railroading.”  

Looking back on all of the work that led to the highly anticipated reopening, Marciano said, “I was always confident it would happen. People call it a gem!”