Page 59 - LINJan-2025-web-file

Memory Lane Takes Twists and Turns

by Jeff Lytle
He has covered and commented on Collier County news since 1975.

sk Ray Carroll about local history and The whole world got closer in 1983 with the opening of
get ready for Southwest Florida Regional Airport, leading to the opening of
A a measured, Naples’ first Ritz-Carlton Hotel only two years later and I-75’s debut
thoughtful answer. shortly after that. “Now there were good interstate road connections
Not only is his to the Midwest and the Northeast,” Carroll instructs.
family entrenched 1988 saw the launch of civic infrastructure such as Leadership
in real estate appraisals and civic good Collier. The Southwest Florida Land Preservation Trust facilitated
deeds, but he is a student of the past complicated projects with many landowners such as the Gordon
and how it connects with today and River Greenway decades later.
tomorrow. “We became civilized,” he continues,” in 1989 – when the Naples
“The future history we make is always the most important,” Philharmonic Center for the Arts opened.
he observes, “but it should be lived wisely in the context of past Leap to 2004, when Carroll
history.” says the landmark Naples Zoo,
With that said, the approach of a new year is a prime time to earlier known as Caribbean
take stock. Gardens and Jungle Larry’s
Carroll’s chronicle of milestones takes a diverse, development- African Safari, became a
driven approach – apt for a member of the Naples Area Board of public treasure as voters
Realtors hall of fame who founded Carroll & Carroll Real Estate approved a preservation push.
Appraisers and Consultants with his late father, Ernie, in 1984. The zoo hits close to home
(His son Rob and sister Cindy are in the appraisal field as well.) for Carroll, who once served
For his first chapter, Carroll, a graduate of Florida Atlantic on its board, and with the
University, goes back to the late 19th century, when his family Naples Airport, which he also
came to the Arcadia area around the time when visionary city helped guide, a stone’s throw across the Gordon River.
pioneers built the Naples Pier and the Old Naples Hotel. The year also hosted Hurricane Charley, with Wilma to follow in
“From the beginning, Naples was about climate, recreation 2005 – and Irma and Ian in 2017 and 2022 respectively.
and real estate development,” says Carroll. “Thank the developers One of the final talking points on Carroll’s memory lane takes
for a public beach -- and public beach access at every city avenue.” several years to play out – COVID 19 “and growing political
Then came the government basics, in 1923 -- the formation divisiveness.” He adds this historic/economic perspective:
and naming of Collier County in return for Barron G. Collier “External conditions enhanced the attractiveness of SW Florida,
overcoming tall odds to finish the Tamiami Trail, and the resulting in population surge, increasing real estate values and rising
chartering of the City of Naples. construction costs.”
Carroll notes that more than naming rights were involved. My key milestones in local history are fundamental, such as
“Thanks to visionary staff leadership, and wealthy residents with the completion of train tracks as well as the Tamiami Trail and
know-how, early in its history Naples had street landscaping and a Interstate 75 by land, and our local airports. Close behind on my
good water/sewer system,” he says. list are institutions that have broadened our horizons for education
Beating the Trail by a few years, railroads come to (and from) and culture, such as Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida
town, with depots near Naples Airport (coming in 1941) and the SouthWestern State College. Senior citizen residential centers
Four Corners downtown. such as Bentley Village and Moorings Park have become economic
Anticipating more growth like plans for Port Royal, Aqualane engines. And staples such as mosquito control and air conditioning
Shores and Royal Harbor, the year 1956 was huge for health care, laid the groundwork for it all.
Carroll says, as Naples Community Hospital opened with 50 beds So there you have it on this New Year’s season, blending looks
– “a good facility, founded ahead of its time, due to the generosity back and ahead by me –for whom history is a hobby–and Ray
of wealthy residents.” Carroll– for whom history is a way of life.
The year 1960 brought bad news, with Hurricane Donna, Enjoy 2026 as a Happy New Year.
but good news followed with the economic boost from property Jeff Lytle covered and commented on the Naples area from 1979 to
insurance payouts. 2014, when he retired as editorial page editor and TV host at the Naples
And, only a few years later, even greater economic gain was on Daily News. Contact him at jlytle1951@gmail.com.
the horizon with the platting of Golden Gate and Marco Island.
Before the decade would end, development brought the
opening of the now-S.S. Jolley Bridge. “Naples and Marco now
seem much closer,” Carroll observes.

Life in Naples | December 2025 59