FLORIDA PLACE TO EXPLORE
Fishermen's Village
Charlotte County · Gulf Coast
A working dock from 1928 turned into a waterfront village of shops, a marina and villas in 1980.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
This was the Maud Street City Docks, built in 1928 and 1929 to replace the old King Street pier, and for decades it held fish packing plants, Gulf Oil storage and a boat shop. By 1977 the docks had deteriorated far enough that the city council decided the property could be put to better use, and in 1980 Fishermen's Village was built on it. What stands there now is a shopping and dining village with a resort and marina attached, and villa rentals above. The history matters to the place: this is a commercial waterfront that was converted rather than an imitation of one. It stands at the west end of the Punta Gorda Harborwalk, so the 2.3-mile waterfront path ends at its door. The marina takes visiting boats as well as resident ones. The villas above the shops are rented out, which means people stay on the pier rather than only walk it. The Military Heritage Museum began life here in a storefront in 2001 before moving to Marion Avenue. For anyone weighing up Punta Gorda, this is the part of town that shows what the old working waterfront was turned into
Keep comparing