For almost 40 years, Southwest Floridians have used the Bonita Springs water tower as landmark. Whether boating or driving, that big, blue tower was a great point of reference.

Sadly, the era of the Bonita Springs water tower has come to an end. On March 11th, demolition of the old tower began. Shortly after, all that remained was an empty, concrete slab.

The 151 foot, 500,000 gallon water tower was originally built in 1982. Over the next 27 years, the tower provided water to thousands of residents on Little Hickory Island. In 2009, however, Bonita Springs Utilities connected the Little Hickory and Fort Myers Beach water mains, which eliminated the need for the tower.

In the years following, the City of Bonita Springs considered renovating the old tower and leaving it as a landmark. Unfortunately, the tower needed hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair work, so the city ultimately decided to tear it down.