Wonder Gardens An Important Anchor For Downtown

Letter to the Editor


I just wanted to thank the City of Bonita Springs for supporting a loan to the Everglades Wonder Gardens.

The Wonder Gardens has been and still is an important anchor to the Historic Downtown Bonita Springs business district. It draws people from around the world. As the first zoo in Southwest Florida it is historically significant. It also was one of the first places in Southwest Florida to research and set up breeding programs for many endangered native animals.

When people visit the Wonder Gardens they see the river and my kayaks. After walking through the Wonder Gardens many stop over and ask about kayaking or where to get something to eat or “what else is there to see and do here.” We tell them about the local restaurants, the Historical Society houses and the Liles Hotel with period rooms set up for visitors to see.

Riverside Park has an artist village set up in historic cabins that once lined the river in the early 1900s. The artist cabins act as studios for the artists and they can usually be seen there on Sunday afternoons. Fishing in the river is great and there is a bait shop right close by. You can drive or bike out to the Bonita Nature Place and Cullum’s Trail or over to get something to eat at the Cafe or Ice Cream Shop, Pizza Shop, Sub Shop, or Mexican Restaurant.

Many first time visitors to the Historic Downtown never realized there was so much to do here. Many of those first timers were attracted to the Wonder Gardens. This is a great use of these funds. Not only will they give better dividends to the City, they will help revitalize the Historic Business District. I cannot think of a better time to do this with the redevelopment of the Old 41 corridor also in progress.

— John Paeno
CEO CGT Kayaks Inc.
27313 Old 41 Bonita Springs



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