The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, housed in a nearly century-old former U.S. post office in downtown Fort Myers, says someone recently vandalized its exterior columns, damaging a structure that has anchored the city's historic commercial district for more than 90 years. The center discovered the damage and reported it in a Facebook post, according to the art center.
The vandalism struck the building's limestone columns, which were quarried in the Florida Keys and now require specialized handling to repair, as the Miami Herald reports. The art center said in its Facebook post, per the Herald's report, that preserving the landmark is a responsibility and that the vandalism creates additional care expenses. The center also said damage to a historic building from graffiti can be significant, since the columns are made of delicate historic limestone that requires specialized care to remove paint without permanently damaging the stone.
The art center said it is working with the city of Fort Myers, which owns the building, to identify who is responsible, and that it is consulting with professionals on cleaning and restoring the damage. Pam Murray, quoted in the report, said she hopes the perpetrator is found and charged, describing downtown Fort Myers as special.
A Post Office Turned Federal Courthouse Turned Arts Hub
The building at 2301 First Street was dedicated in December 1933 as a U.S. post office, according to the seed report attributed to the Miami Herald. It later became a federal courthouse before that court moved to a new facility in 1998, after which the building sat vacant.
Separate historical accounts fill in more of that timeline. The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center itself states the building was constructed in 1933, while the Fort Myers News-Press describes it as a 23,000-square-foot neoclassical structure that became a federal courthouse in 1965. The art center's own account notes the city of Fort Myers purchased the building in 2000, two years after the federal government vacated it.
Florida Arts Inc., a Fort Myers-based 501(c)(3) charity, was awarded a 99-year lease beginning in 2003 to restore and operate the property, according to the art center. The building underwent major interior stabilization and restoration before reopening as the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center on September 10, 2008. Florida Arts Inc. has run the center in the building for almost 20 years, hosting concerts, art exhibits, galas and lectures with a stated mission of bringing world-class arts events to Southwest Florida.
Limestone Columns and a History of Repairs
The building's massive columns, made of Florida Keys limestone, were designed by Florida architect Nat Gaillard Walker in the Neoclassical Revival style, according to the art center's FAQ page. Florida Memory places the building within the Fort Myers Downtown Commercial District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Preservation work is not new to the property. The News-Press reported that an Atlanta restoration company, IFACS, was hired in 2013 to clear away debris and loose plaster from the building's decorative ceilings. More recently, the city sought a $1.75 million federal appropriation for façade repairs and flood-mitigation work at the center, according to Citizen Portal.
The art center has also dealt with other security concerns in recent years. In April 2024, police shared surveillance photos of a suspect vehicle outside the building that investigators believed was connected to the theft of a piece of art, according to WFTX Fox 4.
