When the Pointe was built in the late 1970’s, Siesta Key was still a relatively sleepy barrier island, whose inhabitants included many local fishermen. Midnight Pass was still open to the Gulf and early residents of the Pointe could watch schools of shrimp swim past their lanais. Today they have been replaced by kayakers and paddle boarders enjoying the beautiful mangrove islands of the Neville Marine Park.
Just before the Pointe was developed as one of the premier properties on Siesta Key, Mercury Marine maintained a testing facility for their engines where our gazebo island is today. Across from us in Blind Pass, Mote Marine studied the behaviour of sharks in huge underwater tanks, funded by the U.S. Navy and National Institutes of Health.
Over the years, Siesta Key developed into the great tourist destination for which it is known today, drawn partly by the beach that has been named as the best beach in the U.S. on more than one occasion. Our little corner of the key has still managed to retain much of its original serenity by being surrounded by water on three sides, at the very most southern tip of the island.
Over the years, Siesta Key developed into the great tourist destination for which it is known today, drawn partly by the beach that has been named as the best beach in the U.S. on more than one occasion. Our little corner of the key has still managed to retain much of its original serenity by being surrounded by water on three sides, at the very most southern tip of the island.
History of The Pointe from one of the original owners
The advert for The Pointe – at least the billboard we saw – promised “A View That Goes on Forever,” so we looked into it. It turned out that the South Building was completed in 1975 but construction on the North Building had been stopped in 1976 when the developer ran out of money. At that point the bank took over the project. We bought just in time as The Pointe was sold out before the start of 1978.
The neighborhood was in some ways more interesting in those early years. When Midnight Pass was open, shrimp could be seen swimming in the water from our lanai. The Pointe’s immediate neighbor to the north was Captain Brain Martel, a charter boat operator who took his customers through the Pass into the Gulf on overnight fishing excursions. When he was anchored at home he ran a small bar (which included snacks and bait) from his shack. He would talk “fishing” for hours with anyone who would listen.
At the time Captain Curt’s Oyster Bar was located down the road where the Turtle Beach Pub now stands. Captain Curt’s was owned by “Al,” a retired Michigan policeman. Al also owned “Anchor Down,” a certifiably seedy motel located just south of what is now the Turtle Beach Pavilion’s parking lot. (To its credit, Anchor Down did rent boats, the only business at the south end of the key to do so.) One day sitting at his bar, Al told Bill he was moving Captain Curt’s to Old Stickney Point Road because his landlord had raised the rent to $30,000 per year.
“Ophelia’s” then was not Ophelia’s; it was “The Pirate’s Galley” complete with pirate sitting in an armchair just inside the door – a stuffed dummy dressed absolutely lifelike. (So lifelike that some patrons actually said “hello.”) About five years after we started going there it changed hands and became “LaMare.”
The Pointe’s neighborhood today in some ways is much less colorful. The pass was closed in 1982 making Captain Martel’s charter business less viable. His shack has been replaced by two upscale residences on the east side of The Pointe’s driveway. Closing the Pass also changed the dynamics of Mote Marine’s operation and it shut down the shark tanks. Captain Curt’s Oyster Bar continues but is now a landmark business at the corner of Old Stickney Pointe Road near the South Bridge. LaMare changed hands again to become the Ophelia’s we know today; the Jim Neville Marine Preserve was established on the Bird Key Islands just across the water to the east of The Pointe. And, of course, more condos have been built south of Turtle Beach.
However some things remain as they were. The reasons we bought our place at The Pointe thirty three years ago continue. The view still goes on forever; the serenity of being surrounded by water on three sides plus the peace and quiet that comes with living at the end of a road remains unchanged. This, and the sense of community that is unique to The Pointe, keep us coming back every season.