Naples Historic District and Third Street South

Naples Historic District and Third Street South

I recently had the good fortune to spend my Thanksgiving break in Naples, Florida, and in-between eating Turkey and spending time on the beach I had the opportunity to explore two of the city's more interesting districts: 5th Avenue South (which I will discuss in a future post) and the subject of today's post: the Naples Historic District and Third Street South.

Aerial View

The Naples Historic District (yellow), which is a U.S. Historic District, is located in southwest Naples. It is bounded by 9th Avenue to the north, Third Street South to the east, 13th Avenue South to the south, and the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The district contains 66 historic buildings and is located in the Old Naples neighborhood. Third Street South runs north-south through the city from Central Avenue to 18th Avenue South, however the area we are concerned with are the four blocks between 11th and 14th Avenues South, which comprise the Third Street South Shopping District(red).

Third Street South

Naples is an intensely car oriented city. Inner-city transit is essentially non-existent, sidewalks are rare in many of the city's residential neighborhoods, and while areas like 5th Avenue South and Third Street South are internally walkable, they are surrounded by large swaths of less hospitable development. Furthermore, while these areas do boast a number of tourist-oriented amenities, day-to-day needs, such as pharmacies and grocery stores, are relegated to the city's car oriented districts.

Note the extensive pavers and plantings

That said, Third Street South, while certainly a small area relatively speaking, does boast a number of positive urban qualities. The street is wonderfully landscaped, planters, both public and private, abound and the street is lined by a generous number of trees. These elements are complimented by some very well designed streetlights, signs, and paving schemes. Indeed, the pedestrian design of the street overall is quite well done: all of the buildings feature activated facades oriented towards Third Street with parking located in the back. The largest of these lots also plays host to a regular and popular Farmer's Market. There are two small, well-appointed plazas located along the route, and there are a number of restaurants with outdoor seating, giving the street a lively feel. That said, as noted before, while Third Street South is itself quite walkable, it is more or less disconnected from the rest of the city unless you have a car.

The Naples Historic District

The Naples Historic District abuts and incorporates portions of Third Street South, however the district's overall feel is quite different. The district is primarily residential, and while the businesses along Third Street South have relatively shallow setbacks and are located along pedestrian oriented sidewalks, the homes in the historic district are set far back on their lots and sidewalks are fairly rare.

Note the crimp metal roofs, a common feature throughout the district

While the area isn't exactly walkable, it is not without its charms. The district has a number of truly wonderful turn-of-the-century buildings that run the gambit from very large mansions to smaller, modest cottages. While broken up by the occasional grotesque post-modern neo-Italian nightmare the district's homes share a number of features including crimp metal roofs, clapboard wooden siding, large porches and pastel color schemes that give the area a more-or-less cohesive feel. The entire district is also very well landscaped with extensive private gardens that can be seen from the street.

Note the large porches and muted, pastel color palette

In an area that is so intensely private it is surprising to note that perhaps it's greatest feature is actually its most public: the beach. The City of Naples abuts ten continuous miles of public beach along the Gulf of Mexico which can easily be accessed by public paths connected to modest end-of-street parking lots located at the western termini of the city's avenues. The most prominent of these end-of-avenue features would be the Naples Pier, a 1000ft long fishing pier located in the historic district that was first built in 1888.

Naples presents an interesting case study in planning. On the one hand, its tourist districts, like Third Street South and 5th Avenue South, are in many ways standout examples of pedestrian oriented design, yet the city remains essentially un-walkable overall. The Naples Historic District and Third Street South embody this dichotomy. The lack of walkability in the district is particularly inexcusable as the neighborhood's distinct, historic architecture provides a ready-made attraction that could link the already popular Third Street South to the city's fantastic beaches. This lack of connectivity is most egregious along 12th Avenue South, the street that terminates into Naples Pier. 12th Avenue South abruptly ends at Third Street South only to resume one block over. 

Present Condition

While the street could not be continued without demolishing an existing building, there is no reason why there couldn't be some sort of pedestrian path linking these two points together. As it currently stands, the portion of 12th Avenue South west of Third Street South is linked to the shopping district only by a small uninviting driveway between two buildings that spills out into a large nondescript parking lot. Some sort of clear connection would go a long way towards linking two major attractions that feel very separate despite only being three blocks apart. Indeed, during my first sojourn through the neighborhood I completely missed not only the Pier, but Palm Cottage (the oldest house in Naples), also located along this disconnected portion 12th Avenue  South.

Larger Historic District Homes

This is not to imply that the historic district is some kind of dead zone. There are some sidewalk connections to the beach and there are regular educational tours conducted by the Naples Historical Society, however, with a little more effort the city could not only turn the district into an even greater asset, but also work towards providing a much-needed connection between the already successful 5th Avenue South and Third Street South shopping districts.