CIHS reports History Gallery sailing again at library
The Captiva Island Historical Society is pleased to announce its History Gallery, designed to be a replica of the old mailboat Santiva, is once again open and completely refurbished.
Located at the Captiva Memorial Library, it had been closed since July 2022 due to structural damage to the floor and the closure of the library due to Hurricane Ian. The gallery illustrates Captiva’s unique diverse history. The space takes on the wooden look of the interior of the old mailboat, which serviced the islands prior to the construction of the Sanibel Causeway in 1963.
Last July, a soft spot was detected in the floor at the entry to the gallery. Moisture had eaten away at the subfloor, leaving a hole under the floor tiles.
THE BIGGER PROBLEM
The problem was not restricted to the entrance of the gallery. Upon further investigation, additional soft spots and rotted subfloor were discovered in other areas of the gallery and adjacent office space of the library.
An entire section of the library flooring showed signs of deterioration. The repair would be extensive, requiring the entire floor be pulled up. But before work could commence, the gallery would need to be dismantled and removed.
The Captiva Civic Association, the owner of the building, would take full responsibility for repairs to the subflooring, including the section that housed the gallery. However, the CIHS would be responsible for removal and reinstallation of the “Santiva” exhibit.
THE DILEMMA
It presented an unexpected and expensive dilemma for the CIHS. Its history gallery had only recently undergone a complete refashion and upgrade. It was in top notch condition and now had to be dismantled.
Big daunting questions loomed, presenting one challenge after another for the CIHS Board of Directors. Could the “Santiva” exhibit be disassembled without being severely damaged? If so, who had the expertise to do the work? What about storage? Once disassembled, how and where could it be stored? And more troubling, how could it be reinstalled to look as good as it did before?
THE SOLUTION
CIHS Vice President Mike Boris, the only remaining director on the board when the gallery was opened in 2014, thought the best place to start was Wilderness Graphics of Tallahassee, which originally designed, fabricated and installed the exhibit.
When Boris contacted Wilderness Graphics, it was a pleasant surprise to connect with Cindy Abaco, the original project manager for the exhibit. Fortunately, all the plans still existed. Wilderness Graphics assured the CIHS that it could successfully disassemble and reinstall the exhibit. The CIHS was delighted and drew up the necessary agreement for the project.
The arrangement called for Wilderness Graphics to send two crew members to Captiva for an estimated three days to disassemble the exhibit. After the CCA contractor completed the structural repairs to the floor, Wilderness Graphics would return to reinstall the exhibit.
It was the responsibility of the CIHS to arrange housing for the crew for the nights that they would remain on Captiva. President and Chief Executive Officer of Rochester Resorts and CIHS Director Tony Lapi provided complimentary lodging at the ‘Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa. The CCA provides a section of the Captiva Civic Center hall for storage of the disassembled exhibit sections.
ENTER MOTHER NATURE
By mid-September all plans and arrangements were in place and set to go. The Wilderness Graphics crew was scheduled to arrive on Captiva the afternoon of Sept. 26. With news of the impending Hurricane Ian, Abaco notified Boris it might be best to postpone the arrival of the crew until after the storm passed. On Sept. 27, she notified Boris that the crew had been rescheduled to begin on Oct. 4.
A RESILIENT RESET
It took until mid-December for the Wilderness Graphics crew to be able to dismantle, piece-by-piece, the “Santiva” and store it safely in the center’s hall. Repair of the structural damage to the library floor then began. By mid-January, they came back to reinstall the exhibit — in better condition than before.
In addition to being completely repainted, new soft-on-the-feet, wood-simulated flooring was installed, along with a new exhibit feature — the hourly timetable of the mailboat Santiva.
COMING TO THE RESCUE
In addition to the disruption and dislocation from Ian, the CIHS faced a substantial unexpected expense associated with its gallery — more than $30,000. Yet, in the midst of the challenges and uncertainty that the island community and it faced, one certainty was support from CIHS’ supporters. Thanks to the generous gifts from friends of the CIHS, the gallery’s unexpected expenses are now covered.
The CIHS History Gallery can be accessed during library hours, which currently are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 to 4 p.m.
For more information, visit http://www.captivaislandhistoricalsociety.org/.
The Captiva library is at 11560 Chapin Lane, Captiva.