- 2636 Michigan Avenue in 1962
Winter Home of Gustav and Selma Bramberg
As shown on early photos, this two-story home was constructed in the Florida vernacular style, with a deep front porch designed to keep the house cool in warm weather. It has been remodeled extensively in recent years.
The property is one of 13 existing homes located on the southerly side of Michigan Avenue. These homes were originally part of Evans Addition, a subdivision plat recorded by Mayor James Evans, first in Key West (which was originally the county seat for Fort Myers when it was part of Monroe County), then in 1905 with the Lee County Clerk.
In 1913, The Carl F. Roberts Company purchased 46 of the Evans Addition lots, including this parcel and all other lots in Dean Park on the southerly side of Michigan Avenue. Carl F. Roberts was also a friend of the couple who purchased this parcel. The News-Press reported on Feb. 4, 1914:
“Mr. and Mrs. Gust Bramberg of Chicago, who have been visiting Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Roberts for several weeks, left yesterday for home. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bramberg were delighted with Fort Myers and took away with them a great deal of literature describing the beauties and opportunities of this section of the state.”
In 1918, Mr. Bramberg paid a fourth visit to Fort Myers, this time with his partner in his Chicago real estate firm, and the News-Pressreported that both men were “delighted to be here after tunneling thru snow.” Finally, on March 5, 1921, the Brambergs were ready to buy and purchased this parcel from The Carl F. Roberts Company for $700, subject to a building restriction that a house costing at least $1,000 be built on the parcel. The Sanborn Insurance Company map shows now house existed on this property in 1922, so it seems likely that the existing home was constructed in 1923 or later.
Selma Bramberg and her husband, Gustav, owned the property until 1938, when they sold it to Kate L. Carlton of Lee County for $300. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bramberg were born in Sweden and were married in Chicago in 1894. They lived in Oak Park, Illinois, with Fort Myers as a winter home, until Mrs. Bramberg’s death in 1938 and Mr. Bramberg’s death in 1944.
Earlier addresses: 1021 Michigan Avenue, 125 Michigan Avenue; Evans Addition, Block 2, Lot 11