after moving into his new home in 1958. Depending on size and details, prices ranged from $ 10,990 to $ 26,250 for those first dwellings.
Meanwhile, the Rosens developed one of the most elaborate home- and lot-sales practices ever seen. They promoted Cape Coral and its land internationally, often offering prospective buyers free trips from northern cities.
The Cape Coral Yacht and Racquet Club was a crucial part of those first sales efforts. After opening in 1962, it quickly became a major gathering place for community events and outdoor recreation, as well as sales presentations. The Cape Coral Gardens, including the Rose Garden, blossomed in 1962. The Cape Coral Gardens was an elaborate attraction that featured live dolphin shows, a zoo, flocks of flamingos, a statuary garden and the famous Waltzing Waters, a dazzling array of water fountains choreographed to music and lights. The Gardens closed in 1970, and Tarpon Point Marina now occupies the site.
Airplanes were another important part of the early Cape Coral sales experience. Early flights would stop traffic to land on Coronado Parkway( the Cape’ s third road) and Cape Coral Parkway. After the Cape Coral Bridge opened in 1964, most flights landed in Fort Myers.
Fewer than 300 people lived in Cape Coral in 1960, but the Rosens knew amenities would attract buyers. Their company helped subsidize the first store, and also offered financial support for the first two doctors, Theodore David and Robert Tate. The volunteer fire department organized in 1964, and the Gulf American Land Corp. picked up much of that tab, too.
By 1970, the population had grown to 11,470 and residents voted to incorporate as a city. The first mayor was Paul Fickinger. The first police chief, Jim White, had three officers, a secretary and two patrol cars. In 1976, Cape Coral High School opened with 1,500 students. The hospital opened a year later— and the first patient arrived within a few days to have a fishhook removed.
The 1970s brought dramatic growth. By 1980, the population had tripled to 32,103, and at the turn of the century, 102,206 people lived in Cape Coral. Today, its population of 169,000-plus, makes it Florida’ s 10 th most populated city and the third largest in land area. In the halfcentury since the Rosens bought those first tracts of wilderness, the north side of the Caloosahatchee had indeed become a modern“ Waterfront Wonderland.”
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