provided unlimited access to a private Gulf
beach on Don Pedro Island, that promise
was fading with every passing day after the
environmental acts were passed.
The proverbial straw that broke the
camel’s back was when it was determined
that a consequence of the new laws was
that the dam across West Coral Creek could
not be dismantled. That meant that Gulf
of Mexico access would not be allowed to
the people of Rotonda. The Cavanaugh
Corporation washed its hands of Rotonda
in 1980 and sold it off. Ed McMahon’s
promises of access to the Gulf (they even
brought cabin cruisers into the canals
during the Superstars show) were for
naught.
Currently there are almost 10,000 people
who live in Rotonda. The neighborhood
contains one of the largest collections of
types of Florida architecture in Southwest
Florida, and the people who reside there
are a close-knit community. In all, it is a place
that many people are happy to live … even
if there isn’t deep-water access or seven golf
courses.
Advertisement cut outs of the time,
Florida and the promise of golf
courses Superstars
magazine 1973.