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.

Cambridge Heights, Milwaukee

Cambridge Heights

Cambridge Heights (or Cambridge Woods) is a small neighborhood located on the Northeast side of Milwaukee. It is bounded by the Village of Shorewood to the North, Downer Woods (which contains the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee) to the East, Riverside to the South and the Milwaukee River to the West. The neighborhood is made up primality of small apartment buildings dating from the 1920's and 30's and large, two to three story duplexes built around the turn of the century.

Cambridge Heights along Oakland Avenue

The neighborhood's overall feel could probably be described as "modest." No structure stands more than three stories, orimentation (even on the neighborhood's older buildings) is sparse, commercial ventures are confined to the neighborhood's Eastern boarder along Oakland Avenue, and the area's color palette is made up primarily of whites, earth-tones, and subtle pastels.

That said, Cambridge Heights has many positive urban qualities. The neighborhood is served by two easily accessible bus lines, the first (the Green Line) runs North-South down Oakland Avenue while the second (the 22) runs East-West along Locust. The lots are compact with few, if any, driveways cluttering up the sidewalk while the streets are narrow, treelined, and in several places feature small circles that calm traffic along the neighborhood's residential lanes.

Traffic Circles

Cambridge Heights also sits along two separate bike paths: the Oak Leaf Trail, which runs over the old Chicago and Northwest Railroad next to the Milwaukee River, and the Oakland Avenue bike path that connects the Village of Shorewood to North Avenue. The neighborhood also directly abuts Cambridge Woods, a slim strip of forested parkland that runs along the river.

Cambridge Woods

Remnants of the old Chicago-Northwest Railroad

Defaced Mural along the trail

Architecturally Cambridge Heights is made up of what you might call "vernacular architecture." The neighborhood's buildings are typical of the area and Milwaukee in general. While single family homes are present, the lion's share of the housing is made up of large multi-family duplexes.

The the oldest of these duplexes are a series of three story cream brick houses located along Providence Avenue.

"German Duplex"

Note the "fish scale" shingles

Cream brick was largely used during the mid to late 19th century. These buildings in particular, with their relatively steep gables and wooden ornamentation, were probably built by German immigrants sometime in the late 19th century. The most common building type, however, are two to three story duplexes built during the early part of the 20th century.

Milwaukee Vernacular

The three story model in particular is characteristic of this part of Milwaukee and can be found throughout the city. While not present in this neighborhood, the duplex tradition these buildings represent may have been an outgrowth of the so-called "Polish Flat," another common form found throughout Milwaukee from the late 19th century. While resembling a more-or-less standard cottage the Polish Flat was actually a building made in two stages: First, the owner (often Polish) would build a modest cottage on a plot of land. Then, after acquiring sufficient capital, the owner would elevate the structure and excavate a shallow basement beneath the original site. This new half-subterranean room would then be converted into a small apartment that could be rented out.

Block of three-story duplexes

Note the modest ornamentation

In addition to duplexes Cambridge Heights also has a number of small brown brick apartment buildings dating back to the 1920's-1930's. These are quite common for the area and a number can be found in neighboring Shorewood and along Oakland Avenue.

Brown brick apartments

The most common type of single family home in the neighborhood are bungalows, most of which were built after the turn of the century before World War II.

Cambridge Heights Bungalows

Bungalows are characterized primarily by being only one to one-and-a-half stories with broad, low roofs and overhanging eves. While there are a number of different bungalow types, in the United States bungalows are closely associated with the Arts and Crafts movement, and often feature decorative elements from that school.

In terms of contemporary architecture Cambridge Heights sports a couple of fairly unremarkable condominiums located along Locust Street. The East side of Milwaukee has always had a number of wealthy areas and is gentrifying in many places. Cambridge Heights, however, is a little harder to get a read on. The area is certainly wealthier than average for Milwaukee, however, you get the sense that the neighborhood, which began as a working to middle class enclave, is now primarily middle to upper middle class.

Meh.

Cambridge Heights' most interesting feature, however, would have to be the home located at 3138 N. Cambridge, also known as the Edmund Gustdorf; Milwaukee's very own boathouse.

Admittedly the lighthouse is a little off-kilter

Facing the Milwaukee River on the neighborhood's quite West side the Edmund Gustdorf was built as a custom home sometime in the mid 1920's by her namesake, Edmund B. Gustdorf. The houseboat is one of Milwaukee's lesser known, yet none-the-less cherished, landmarks and is often the focal point of neighborhood gatherings.