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Feels good to have you back, Naples Pier. The pier suffered damage during Hurricane Irma, but it's fully open once again—and six weeks ahead of schedule. A plywood wall had blocked visitors from strolling down much beyond the concession stand for most of the last year. And for part of July, the entire pier was off-limits to enable further retouching.
This isn't the first time the pier has been knocked down—but not out. As we detail in our story Hangout Heaven: "The Pier was damaged and repaired during the hurricanes of 1910 and 1926. It weathered another one in 1935. The hurricane of 1944 forced it to be rebuilt to sturdier standards—only to be decimated by Hurricane Donna in 1960. Philanthropists Lester and Dellora Norris paid some $130,000 to rebuild it." (This time, the contract to repair the pier came in at $182,470.)
If you can't make it down to the pier anytime soon (or don't want to, given the red tide and all), check out our photo feature from last December: The Naples Pier—From Six Perspectives.