Arcade Building Interior
Starting top left.
The Arcade Building in 1948 – view from US HWY 1 (then 4th Street) looking north. Originally built in 1926, the historic restoration took 3 years of research, dedication and hard work.
Fort Pierce was named after Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Kendrick Pierce in 1838. His brother, Franklin Pierce, became the 14th President of the United States.
Drying cotton nets at the Sample Family Fish House. Commercial fishing provided many jobs for local residents.
Celebrating 4th of July at the bandstand across from the PP Cobb General Store on Indian River Drive.
Four of the characters in this mural were sketched from Norman Rockwell’s inspired illustrations of American Life.
Fort Pierce Band played stirring music at local events.
Moore’s Creek Bridge, a favorite fishing hole, had a two-plank sidewalk leading to Avenue A.
Author and Playwright Zora Neale Hurston, traveled the south collecting colorful African-American folklore. Her house in Fort Pierce is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Saturday matinees at the Sunrise Theatre, built in 1923, was restored and opened again in 2006.
A 1908 family portrait with one of the first automobiles in Fort Pierce.
Steam Trains arrived in Fort Pierce after the tracks had been extended south in 1894.
In 1908, Fort Pierce School, North 2nd Street, had just 253 students.
Elephants parade Orange Avenue when the Barnum Bailey Circus came to town in 1959 and set up the big top at St. Anastasia School.
“Gandy Dancers” (a slang term used for early railroad workers) used hand-pumped carts to reach railroad sections in need of repair.
Dr. Platts and family, the first doctor, also established the first drug store at eh southeast corner of Avenue A.
Goods were delivered to early settlers in horse-drawn wagons.
RIGHT-HAND PANEL
PP Cobb General Store sold “Everything to Eat, Wear and Use.”
Gold coin salvage from the Spanish Treasure Fleet. As early as 1565, Spanish sailors were searching the Indian River Lagoon for shipwrecked countrymen.
Louise Jones Gopher was the first Seminole girl to graduate from Indian River Community College.
A 1940’s poster for the War Production Co-coordinating Committee.
The Betty Weens Freighter was the first large vessel to sail through the new Fort Pierce Inlet constructed in 1921. The “natural” inlet was located to the North of this site.
A Dance Studio taught the latest steps on the second floor of the Arcade Building.
Brahma Cattle were one of the first breeds imported to improve local stock for the growing cattle industry.
In 1925 Old City Hall was built on Avenue A, one year before the Arcade Building opened.
Rumor has it that local resident Bill Anderson was a member of the Jesse James Gang.
This Ais (Ays) Indian Shell Mound on South Indian River Drive dates back almost 2,000 years ago.
Bee-keepers produced delicately flavored Orange Blossom honey.
The St. Augustine Paddle Steamer, called a stern-wheeler, carried passengers, supplies and news from the north.
Vast schools of fish provided sport and food for the settlers.
Hogg’s Trading Post was a fish cannery in 1880. This area of Fort Pierce, south of Moore’s Creek, was called “Can Town.”
Senator Dan McCarty on an official visit to Fort Pierce. He went on the be the first and only Florida Governor to come from Fort Pierce.
Citrus became a major industry and established the area’s reputation as the biggest grapefruit producer in the world.
Seminole Indians traveled the waterways in boats carved from hollowed-out trees.
Replica of the original ship medallions decorating the Arcade Building.
Beachcombing was always popular on the Treasure Coast.
Local attorney, Florida Supreme Court Judge and cattleman, Judge Alto Adams, Sr. developed the Adams Ranch located west of town.
The old St. Lucie County Courthouse. In 1901, Fort Pierce was a thriving business center with shipping and railroad depots.
Famed artist, A.E. “Beanie” Backus held annual Halloween parties that were always inter-generational and inter-racial.
Delivering pineapples and bananas. Before the big freeze in 1894/1895, pineapple fields stretched along the Indian River from Stuart to Vero Beach.
The first Navy Frog Men in the United States were taught at the Amphibious Training Base during World War II.
Peacocks still roam Orange Avenue, displaying exotic plumage.
Portrayed here with his wife Stephanie, Judge William Tye entrusted his beloved Arcade Building to Bob Brackett.
Restoration expert and Patron of the Arts Bob Brackett with his wife Sandy, formerly the Miss Sandy Biggles, who grew up in Fort Pierce.