Blog #5

The word Downtown evokes a lot of different emotions; The most predominate emotion to me though is a sense of home. I guess its because I grew up in Miami my whole life which is one of the biggest and most populated cities in the United States. The word also brings me to a state of happiness because Downtown usually means a night of bar hopping and partying. I believe that the stature of downtown has changed significantly in communities; in todays society a city or community with a thriving downtown area filled with business and restaurants means that the communities economy is doing well.

Downtown Fort Myers is currently experiencing a "Green" renaissance, meaning that the city is trying to market Fort Myers as a eco- friendly city. Some architectural features that stood out to me was the fountain that consisted of statues of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone. Another feature that I noticed and thought to have given the Downtown area a very original look is the Lee county court house and its Neo- Classical look. This all relates back to sustainability in almost a very direct manner. The city of Fort Myers is attempting to become a pioneer in a very sustainable/ eco-friendly design.