In the 1920s, Florida became well known as a vacation destination, and Crescent Beach (as the island was known at the time) started to develop. Tom Phillips was one of the first real estate developers to set sights on Fort Myers Beach. Phillips created a development known as San Carlos on the Gulf and built the arches. These arches were constructed from coquina rock and served as an entryway to the island. The arches allowed traffic to flow both on and off the island with sidewalks on each side. The building seen behind the arches was the sales center for Phillips’ development. The arches remained a Fort Myers Beach landmark for over 55 years until they were removed in 1979 to make room for the Sky Bridge.
