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More History of Marco Island

• History in Motion: July 18, 2008
• 30 years ago today: July 16, 2008
• History in Motion: July 11, 2008

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Fast facts:

In the 1950s, the U.S. Air force began launching small test missiles such as the Matador and the Snark “down range” into the Atlantic Ocean from Patrick AFB, south of Cape Canaveral. Under the direction of RCA, Pan American contractors established missile tracking stations on land bases and ships at sea to monitor these missiles, as well as later unmanned and manned space flights, with radar and more advanced telemetry. A blockhouse was built for this purpose at the southwestern corner of Marco Island where Cape Marco now stands.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the U.S. agreed to dismantle missile bases in Turkey and several specific sites here at home, because the Cuban government felt threatened by some of them. This included Marco Island, never an offensive installation in the first place.

The government deeded the land to the Mackles’ Deltona Corporation, which had bought the island for development in the early sixties. Deltona used the building for storage of chemicals and construction material, but eventually the place was vacated and deteriorated into a mass of giant concrete blocks.

A fence was erected around it and the property abandoned until developer Jack Antaramian purchased the land in the 1990s and began building the Cape Marco Towers (see photo). He completed four of these, and then sold the whole project to WCI, which finished the last two towers. All six are now occupied by private owners.

Marco Island Historical Museum

A commemorative book of original paintings created for the Art Interprets History, Visions of Marco Island’s Past, will soon be available. Five artists working on the project are: senior curator Paul Arsenault, Jonathan Green, Robert Gruppé, Rachel Kennedy and Stephen Muldoon. The artists created paintings from old photographs or were inspired by actual historic sites in Marco, Caxambas, Horr’s Island and Goodland. The book will raise money for the museum building fund.

If you missed the exhibit, it will open in Naples at the Collier County Museum in May.

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Marion Nicolay and Betsy Perdichizzi of the Marco Island Historical Society are compiling this report on a weekly basis for the Eagle. Shirley Beckwith oversees the archiving of photos for MIHS.