One More Thing to Love about Punta Gorda - Beautiful Backyards

Turtle Club Cuts The Ribbon -- Official Chamber Opening

Look Who Has Moved In - Dove Nesting in Alcove Doves

Doves here - two at a time - a family - tend to select a house to hang around, live by.  They typically roost on the roof or in a nearby tree.  This family has picked a safer location inside the alcove of a home.  

St. Paddy's Day Message on Local Sign

Snapped last night 

Another Stunning Sunset on Charlotte Harbor

A View Through A Stairwell of a Splendid Sunset

John Wright at the Punta Gorda Short Film Festival

Boogiemen at the Punta Gorda Elks Picnic

Boogiemen Perform at Punta Gorda Elks Picnic on Sunday, March 9  (Photo by J. Bates)

Beautiful Day for Outdoor Dining at the Turtle Club

"New Theatre" Mural on Event Center Wall

The Conquistador's Ship at The Tiki Bar

The Conquistadors Group of Punta Gorda do their annual landing.  

View from Above Setting up Funkfest

Setup for Funk Fest for Saturday, February 28, 2015 (Photo by John Bates)

Unveiling of Plaque Celebrating the Integration of Charlotte High - the First Public School in Florida to Integrate Voluntarily

In September of 1963, Charlotte High School admitted its first five African-American students, making the public school in Punta Gorda the first in Florida to  voluntarily integrate. The five courageous individuals who entered the school that day in 1963 were honored today with the unveiling of a plaque celebrating this proud moment in Charlotte County, Florida, Punta Gorda and American history.   From left to right standing in front of their respective images on the plaque are Gertha Haddock Robison, Felix Johnson, Minnie Lee Mitchell, Issac Thomas and Ronald Middleton.

Perfect Caper Mural by Charles Peck

Hotel Punta Gorda Mural Depicting Famous Visitors

Visitors have always come to Punta Gorda during the winter months largely between January and April.  The Hotel Punta Gorda which opened in 1886 coincident with the railroad terminating here welcomed many during the Winter months.  Above depicted were from the left Clarence Darrow, Henry Ford, Dan Beard, Thomas Edison, Patty Berg, Henry Firestone and Andrew Mellon.  There is some question as to whether Edison actually stayed in the hotel.