The Fight to Save Everglades City Train Depot

It looks like the iconic Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot, built in 1928 in Everglades City, may be reaching the end of the line. Ironically, as Collier County celebrates its Centennial (1923-2023), the famous train depot, recognized as one of 47 historic sites in the county, seems to be facing a certain demise. 

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot shows up at number 10 on The Historic and Archaeological Preservation Board's list of historic sites.

Several scenes from the 1957 movie Wind Across the Everglades were filmed on location at the Depot. The Depot provided the backdrop for Hollywood stars Burl Ives, Christopher Plummer, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Emmett Kelly. Wind Across the Everglades was directed by the great American director Budd Schulberg.

While many of the key players won’t talk on the record about what’s happening with the Depot site, others want everyone to know that the building is in grave danger. Chief among them is Bill Odrey of Atlanta, the current owner of the Depot. Glenda Hancock, a pioneer-era Collier Countian, oversees the property for Odrey. Hancock’s first job outside of the family fish business was as a teenager at the Depot. Both Odrey and Hancock want to save the Depot in the worst way. The same can be said for Patty Huff, president of the Everglades Society for Historic Preservation, whose proudest work may be procuring the funding for the Bank of the Everglades renovation in Everglades City.

"The Everglades Society for Historic Preservation’s mission is to preserve historic sites, structures, documents, artifacts, and memories within the Everglades area,” said Patty Huff. “Staying true to our mission, especially in the County Centennial year, Everglades Society for Historic Preservation (ESHP) is concerned about the possibility that the historic railway depot will continue to deteriorate. Over the past several years, we have been supportive of the owner to repair and restore the building. Recently Everglades Society for Historic Preservation gathered signatures from the community, who also hope to see this structure return to its original elegance.”

So far, over 100 people have signed the ESHP’s petition.

The Depot was looked at as the final step in opening up Everglades City to the outside world when it was completed in June 1928. The Tamiami Trail had just opened on April 25, 1928. Tamiami Trail is the name given to the southernmost 284 miles of US 41 from Tampa to Miami, hence the blended name Tamiami. The Depot was the southern terminus of the Atlantic Coast Line. In a single operation, what is now known as SR 29 was built parallel to the railroad line into Everglades City. The railroad line delivered up to 32 people, goods, and mail to Everglades City until it closed in 1956.

Over the years, the Depot has been home to a number of popular restaurants and has seen expansion and renovation. Historically, the Depot has been a vital part of the Everglades City community.

“It's just a focal point in the city that needs to be restored,” Glenda Hancock said flatly. “It needs to be made presentable again. I mean, for a lot of us, this is where we had our first jobs as a teenager. Back behind the kitchen there was a room where we had our youth center. It’s where they had their dances and get-togethers for the teenagers. So that's where a lot of us hung out. It's just a part of the community. It's just something that would be nice if it was restored.”

Odrey would love to avail a portion of the 15,000 square foot layout to the kids of Everglades City.

“I thought if we converted part of it to a community center until they build their own, that would be a good thing,” Odrey said. “There's a 5,000 square foot banquet hall. So there's a lot of room for that.”

The Depot sits on a prime lot on Collier Avenue, overlooking a body of water called Lake Placid on the way into Everglades City. The property is currently an eyesore. But Odrey says he’s not entirely to blame.

"It's just a golden gem down there,” Odrey said of the property. "It just makes me so sad about the way it's been going. If I can't get financing or a loan to keep it, it's going to be sold to one of two or three developers to build condos there. I've invested a lot of money in it already, making payments and things, and it's been really hard. I just need to find some lender so that we can fix it up. It will work. There's no question.”

“We found an opportunity in the Everglades because this building was dilapidated,” Odrey said. "And we've been trying to secure financing on it to fix it up. Now we're at the point where the banks want it to be open. And when we tried to fix it up, and the county would not permit us to fix it up in sections, we had to fix it up all at one time.”

“Everything was in bad shape when I bought it,” Odrey said. "They were running the water lines through electric conduit when we got the place. We had to upgrade things. The former mayor, Sammy Hamilton, owned it at one time. When we came in, we started upgrading things for safety.”

"I just need somebody to help save a dream. I bought this beautiful building when I came into town. And we had some trolley buses that we had built. Our goal was to bring people into Everglades City with our trolley business.

Odrey has owned Premier Trolley Services in Naples since 2010.

“It's been pretty successful,” Odrey said, "we do weddings mostly.”

Odrey wants to bring people to Everglades City on his vintage trolleys.

“We want to be hospitality, transportation and food,” he said. "A really good quality level. But the building was in shambles when we got it. What needs replacing now has always needed replacing. So there's nothing more, you know, it's not like it wasn't bad when we got it. It deteriorated. It was already deteriorated to where things needed to be replaced. Because it was never really maintained. But with it being so large, it should be a vital part of the community by using it for something the community needs it for. I'm not giving up on it. We just need some lender financing. I'm not getting rid of it. I do not want to sell it to anybody. I really want to preserve it and use it, but I want to use it as a functional piece of the community.”

Odrey says he’s not competing with local restaurants.

 "I'm not trying to bother anybody,” he said, "I don't want to take the restaurant business from the people that are there already. I just want to bring my own people in on my own boats and my own buses for canoeing, kayaking, rafting and stuff. We bring them on the trolley from Naples, we take them to Panther Creek. They get on the boat, they go on a little tour around Everglades City. And then we drop them off at the train depot. So they get to see a little bit of the city from the water. Then they eat. Put them back on the trolley. Take them through town, hopefully to the museum, and then back to the hotel for dinner.”

Odrey opened the Depot for business in 2015. Hurricane Irma, COVID, and Hurricane Ian put him in a precarious position.

"I probably put a couple hundred thousand dollars into the property easily,” Odrey said. "Between the mortgage payments and the fixing up. I just couldn't keep it going when the hurricane came. We just wanted to fix it like right now. If the chickee hut was done and the deck was done, and we had the restrooms fixed up, we could actually open up with catering and let somebody else cater it for the time being and get some revenue coming in.”

So Odrey is treading water, hoping to find financing.

“We just couldn't get financing on it,” Odrey said. “We're still trying to secure financing. But you have to show them that it's running as a business. And we couldn't do that because we couldn't get the loan to fix the building up.”

Odrey is happy that he has a community stalwart in his corner.

"I'm blessed from God that I know her,” Odrey said of Hancock. “She's been with me from the beginning. When the county came in and made us basically close down unless we did the whole building, that was sort of the closure for us."

“I agree,” said Hancock, who has worked in the construction business with her husband for decades. “The Depot is a piece of art. Look at the craftsmanship in it. And the architecture. It's just sad to see it in the state that it's in now. It can be saved. The roof is mostly metal and concrete. But I believe in my heart that this structure is sound. I believe it was put up here to last for a very, very long time. We've had people go under and look at it and say the foundation is amazing, that it still is intact. I mean, it's strong. He needs financing or investors, you know, maybe a couple investors to kick in with an agreement that in five to 10 years they could be paid back once it’s established and up and running."

Odrey doesn’t think the train has left the station. He thinks he can save the Depot.

 "I love history, and I love that kind of nostalgia,” Odrey said. "I'm not stopping, you know, I'm just not stopping."

If you would like to learn more about the Depot, you may contact Glenda Hancock at 239-963-5289.