One only needs to travel to Fort Myers, Fla., to visit the winter homes of two of history’s most inventive and influential people, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. The two good friends had side-by-side winter homes for 15 years that have been restored to the way they looked during their lifetimes. A comprehensive master plan is underway that includes a phased restoration program of the buildings and the development of adjacent land for new parking and visitor amenities, with an expansion of the existing 15,000-square-foot (1,394-m2) museum.
Open year round, the Edison & Ford Winter Estates receives as many as 225,000 visitors per year, making it one of the 10 most visited national historical homes in the country. The site is made up of 10 buildings and structures- Edison’s family house, guest house, botanic research lab, caretaker’s house, little office, pool complex, machine shop and garage, and Ford’s house and caretaker’s cottage-that are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Edison Moonlight Garden and part of the original Edison pier still remain, as well.
Looking Back
Edison first fell in love with Fort Myers in 1885, and in 1886, construction was completed on his vacation home along the Caloosahatchee River. Named Seminole Lodge, the home served as a winter retreat and workplace for Edison until his death in 1931. Based on Edison’s sketches, the home was designed by Alden Frink of Massachusetts and assembled by a team of Edison engineers and workers using precut lumber from Fairfield, Maine, that was transported to Fort Myers by boat.
Over the years, Edison and Ford became close friends and business partners and they visited at Edison’s estate. In 1916, Ford purchased the estate next door to Edison, named the Mangoes, and spent the next 15 winters there with the Edisons.
By the 1920s, Edison and Ford were very interested in finding a commercially viable source of organic rubber that could be grown and made available in the United States. By 1926, they had built the Botanic Research Laboratory on the Edison Estate, where workers helped Edison research goldenrod as a source of natural rubber. The lab remains filled with the original apparatus and equipment Edison used to conduct his rubber research, as well as the cot where he took catnaps while working.
Edison’s tropical botanical garden contains more than a thousand variety of plants imported from all over the world. Originally an experimental garden, Edison’s wife, Mina, later enhanced the family garden areas with roses, orchids and bromeliads.
In March 1947, Mina deeded the 14- acre (5.6-hectare) Edison property to the city. That November, the main and guest homes were opened to the public. The Ford estate was privately owned from 1945 to 1988, when it was purchased from the owners. It opened to the public in 1990.
Restoring the Past
“Historical restoration and preservation architecture are not only important to interpret history, but also, in this day of concern about energy conservation and renewable natural resources, restoration architecture and preservation are the ultimate in green architecture and construction,” said Wiley Parker, AIA, of Fort Myers-based Parker/Mudgett/Smith Architects Inc., the architect of record for the historical restoration since 2003.
Chris Pendleton, president and CEO of the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, said that guest ticketing originally was handled through the old Edison machine shop and garage, and visitors parked in the open field where Edison and Ford, along with their friend Harvey Firestone, had planted their crops for rubber research. Initially, only the Edison main house, guest house and laboratory were open for touring. During the years, a museum for inventions and related exhibits was constructed by adding to the old machine shop and garage.
“The combined properties were not significantly altered or improved to accommodate visitors but simply opened and managed as visitors throughout the world came in droves with an annual visitation averaging about 225,000 people,” Pendleton said.
By 2001, it was determined that a different management structure was needed, as well as a massive emergency restoration. “The Thomas Edison & Henry Ford Estates Inc. non-profit corporation was created, and it took over the project, improving the property with nearly $12 million in improvements and restoration to date,” Pendleton said. She added that this was the result of a significant public/private partnership combining the state of Florida, city, county, private and national funding sources.
“We are restoring the properties to the1929 time of Edison’s occupancy here in Fort Myers,” Parker said. “The homes are being carefully restored, and we are putting a lot of effort into the period of interpretation. We recognize that Edison’s presence had quite an impact on this small river community.”
Fort Myers-based Chris-Tel Co. has been the restoration contractor for the projects. “I feel that as a society we need to embrace our heritage and its structures not only as milestones of our past but as benchmarks to our future,” said Howard Wheeler Jr. of Chris-Tel Co.
The first project to be restored was the Edison guest house, which included stabilizing the structure that had termite and water damage. Additionally, every clapboard was removed and cleaned, repaired, painted and placed in its original location. The guest house was originally owned by Edison’s friend and partner, Ezra Gilliland. Edison renovated the home in 1906, and throughout its history, the home hosted many visitors, including the Ford family, Firestone and President Herbert Hoover.
Restoration of the Edison Main House, Seminole Lodge, began in 2004. That consisted of every inch of the building being restored to 1929 standards and still containing the original furniture.
Edison’s caretaker house was open to the public for the first time in 2006. During its restoration, contractors prepared the house by stabilizing the structure, removing layers of paint and marking clapboards. Today the house is used for special exhibits, education programs, meeting space and special events.
The Moonlight Garden was restored to its 1929 design in 2006 by landscape architect Ellin Goetz of Goetz + Stropes Landscape Architects Inc., Naples, Fla. The restored garden has won the top award from the Florida Society of Landscape Architects.
Several years ago the roof on the Edison machine shop and garage, which is currently used as a museum store and ticket area, was replaced with a V Crimp metal roof.
Ford’s retreat, the Mangoes, is a 3,000-square foot (279-m2) craftsman bungalow-style home built in 1911 by Robert Smith of New York. The Fords enlarged the original central living area by adding wings for guests and their staff. For the recent roof replacement, Berridge Manufacturing Co., San Antonio, supplied 57 squares (529 m2) of Satin Finish Galvalume Victorian Shingles. Additional improvements to the Mangoes include a state-of-the-art fire suppression system with indoor mist system. The home’s exterior and interior were repainted, and the furnishings and artifacts were restored and expanded with contributions, including a Ford portrait. A Federal Emergency Management Agency Wind Mitigation grant will aid in the completion of the system to retrofit the building for wind mitigation, including hurricane panels.
“The Berridge shingles are very close in design and style to the original metal roof, so they were a good match for the replacement,” Parker said.
Ian Gordon, staff architect for Berridge Manufacturing, said: “Berridge Victorian Shingles were patterned after authentic ‘turn of the century’ stamped shingle designs. They are ideally suited for restoration of historically significant projects such as the Mangoes at Edison & Ford Winter Estates.”
Future Projects
To date, the restoration has focused on the riverside of the property, with only the restoration of the landscape lighting and underground electrical system remaining. Throughout the rest of this year and into 2010, the first phase of restoration to the Edison Botanic Research Lab will begin. According to Pendleton, this will initially include structural improvements, a new roof and exterior shell for the building. Plans also include replacing the current roof with a V Crimp metal roof. The roof will consist of exposed-fastener, lap-seam 5V metal roof panels made from metallic-coated steel sheets with a smooth, flat finish. The manufacturer has not yet been determined.
After the initial project, it is estimated an additional$1 million will be needed for the completion of the total lab building project and surrounding research and propagating area, Pendleton said. This does not include overall garden restoration, build outs, and improvements to the museum and visitor amenities, which could top
$10 million.
The master plan includes an improved museum with a new entrance and a new 8-acre (3.2-hectare) parking area off the north-side nonhistorical property that is adjacent to the research gardens, as well as buildings for visitor amenities, which may also include metal roofs.
“This next phase of restoration, as well as the improvements to the museum and parking, is estimated to be a five-year project, and it will transform the historical site into a state-of-the-art science and invention center, which utilizes the historical buildings, gardens and artifacts of the two great inventors,” Pendleton said.
Once completed, the entire project will be applying for LEED certification, according to Parker. “All along we have been paying attention to the conservation ideas and are using some LEED certified materials along the way, such as the Berridge metal roof shingles.”
The ongoing restoration projects at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates have received a number of awards, including the Florida and National Trust of Historic Preservation’s Award for Excellence in Stewardship and Restoration in 2008 and 2009.
One way to learn from the past is to visit the places where the people who helped shape history spent a lot of their time. The restoration of the buildings, along with a comprehensive master plan, will continue making the Edison & Ford Winter Estates one of the most visited historical sites in the country for generations to come.
Edison & Ford Winter Estates, Fort Myers, Fla.
Owner: City of Fort Myers
Operator: Thomas Edison & Henry Ford Estates Inc.
Architect: Parker/Mudgett/Smith Architects Inc., Fort Myers
Landscape architect: Goetz + Stropes Landscape Architects Inc., Naples, Fla.
Restoration contractors: Chris-Tel Co., Fort Myers
The Mangoes home metal roof distributor: Suncoast Roofing Supply, Fort Myers
Mangoes metal roof installer: Camp-Rigby Roofing Sheet Metal Contractors Inc., Cape Coral, Fla.
Mangoes metal shingles: Berridge Manufacturing Co., San Antonio
