The following are excerpts from an April 27, 2019, article by Cynthia Williams in the News-Press.
In a 1989 News-Press article, Eileen Bernard, author of “Lies that Came True: The Amazing Creation of Cape Coral Florida,” tells a fantastic (in the literal meaning of the word) story about the controversy over the building of the Cape Coral Bridge.
A plan for the span
“In the 1960s the Rosen brothers employed a group of promotion people, who were (or at least thought they were) the best in the business. As part of this group, I attended a meeting in 1962 in which Leonard Rosen discussed his plan for a bridge. I stuck a note in his pocket which read, ‘For God’s sake, if you’re going to build a bridge, why don’t you make it a tourist attraction?’“Two weeks later, Rosen found the note and phoned excitedly from Miami, ordering his staff to get together right away and brainstorm for ideas. We debated and analyzed, we discussed and argued.”
‘Waterfront Wonderland’
“Someone suggested huge pots of flowers dangling from the top of the bridge, but this was opposed …because the flowers would be torn to smithereens by the heavy winds on the bridge. Bubbles were proposed. Flags got a big hand. Finally, we agreed that the theme should have something to do with water, since the company then proclaimed itself, the ‘Waterfront Wonderland.’ ”
“Huge sheets of water were to cascade over the bridge on plexiglass panels. The Rosens endorsed it and soon we were running about torturing architects, engineers and even sculptors (the more classical among us panted after colossal statues of Jove and Neptune with water spouting from their mouths).”
Then, suddenly, said Bernard, they got a cable from the Rosens in Europe saying they had just bought the Waltzing Waters.
Then, a shift
“The Rosen’s thirst for flowing waters had been quenched,” said Bernard, referencing the fight, then in progress, to build the Midpoint Bridge with this observation: “The idea’s a good one. We could put all the squabbling officials in convertibles, start them over the bridge, then sabotage the jets and soak them all.”
Sources: News-Press archives, newspapers.com, the State Archives of Florida.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: From the Archives: Cape Coral Bridge almost became a tourist attraction
Reporting by Fort Myers News-Press / Fort Myers News-Press
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By Fort Myers News-Press | USA TODAY Network
