1961 Plat or City Map of Southeast Cape Coral, Florida

This is a c. 1961 plat or real-estate city map of the development of the southeastern part of Cape Coral, Florida. Lots, or 'sites' are numbered and shaded different colors to differentiate between price points. Patterns, such as dots, diagonal stripes, and cross-hatching, allow for even further specificity in price range. None of the streets within the development are labeled, and only two streets that act as boundaries are identified. However, the human-made lakes within the development have been named. Sites that have been set aside for use as motels, theaters, restaurants, schools, parks, and other civic projects are shaded white, just like the streets. Insets on both the recto and verso inform the viewer which parts of the city are shown.

Cape Coral, Florida

Cape Coral, Florida, was founded by two real estate developers from Baltimore, Leonard and Jack Rosen. The brothers purchased the Redfish Point peninsula in 1957, intending to develop a master-planned organized community. The first four houses built in Cape Coral were completed in May 1958, and the town was incorporated in August 1970. In 2017, Forbes named Cape Coral America's fastest-growing city.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published c. 1961 to help Cape Coral's developers sell properties. We have encountered one other map from this series, now part of the Tampa Bay Historical Society Touchton Map Collection, but we are not aware of any other known examples of the current map.