Shell Factory owner Pam Cronin talks with a cashier during the final weekend of the historic tourist attraction, which closed its doors for good on Sunday after more than 85 years in business.

Whenever local residents had visitors come to town, one of the first places they would take them was to the Shell Factory, a kitschy little place where you could go to buy souvenirs, play mini-golf, see some animals, feed the fish and turtles and so much more.

To the locals, it was part of their lives, some for decades. That famous arch was always there and there was always something to do.

That came to an end Sunday, when the Shell Factory & Nature Park —  part of North Fort Myers for more than 70 years, — closed for the last time. And many came back to say goodbye and share memories of one of the last “Old Florida” attractions.

There were clearance prices at the shops and a limited menu at the two restaurants for those who wanted to share a farewell meal or enjoy a final round.

And there was huge support for the Shell Factory as many wanted to pay one last visit before its closure.

Pam Cronin, who with her late husband Tom brought the place back from the brink in the late 1990s, said it was just time as the place was developing issues faster than they could fix them, especially after the pandemic and Hurricane Ian.

“All the things became overwhelming. It has always been a struggle. We got close a couple times where we thought we might make a profit and it didn’t happen,” Cronin said. “It’s gotten to the point where between retail and restaurant sales being less nationwide, and the huge number of repairs, it just did not make sense.”

Looking around you could see the lingering effects of the near Category-5 storm that devastated Southwest Florida amost two years to the date.

“We haven’t listed the property. We had been looking into some inquiries from companies that have contacted us about purchasing and keeping it as an attraction,” Cronin said. “We contacted them for interest, but they got the financials as it is, the interest waned. It wasn’t financially feasible.”

Cronin said they are in the process of rehoming the animals in the Nature Park for which they have gotten tremendous support, and are making sure that those who worked there could find some employment.

Cronin also said that unsold items will be put up for auction. The Chamber of Commerce will continue to be housed there for the time being, as will the Gulf Coast Fudge Company.

For those who enjoyed the Shell Factory all these years, it’s going to be a great loss, as it represented one of the few old time tourist attractions the area had.

Kimberly Indyk, of Cape Coral, has brought her children here since they could remember.

“We’re very sad to see it go. I think something like this should be here. We don’t have any good tourist areas,” Indyk said. “It’s a great place to bring the kids and family and we enjoyed the Nature Park all these years. It’s something that’s been special and sentimental to me.”

“We were here twice a month. I’ve been coming here since I could breathe,” said her daughter, Christine. “I have pictures of me at age 2 here. I always went here because this was one of the only things we could do in the area.”

Angel Corrente had been coming to the Shell Factory since the late 1980s, and it was one of her first memories about Florida.

“I thought it was the most amazing place. When I moved here and had children, this was one of the first places we took them,” Corrente said. “I am so sad to see this happen. It’s such a wonderful place. It’s why I moved up the road.”

Tina Bartholomew, of North Port, found the Shell Factory by accident when she discovered the flea market in the front parking lot.

“We went in and it became one of our favorite places to go to. It’s very sad to see it go. When I saw that church made of shells, that was amazing,” Bartholomew said. “And they had the Christmas store and the zipline and when they opened up Tommy’s, they had great food.”

Mike Fleming was also sad as he brought family and friends there regularly.

“It’s a great place to come for young and old. We’re hoping an investor will buy it and maybe bring it back to life,” Fleming said. “I remember the great food and shopping and it was the go-to place with a lot of things going on.”

Jan Walimire was there with her grandkids eating ice cream. She brought them regularly to do all the fun things offered from mini-golf to bumper boats to the popular Nature Park with its 400-plus animals, many of them rescues.

They also came for the myriads of events.

“We’ve been coming for 11 years. We loved seeing Santa Claus and sitting in the sleigh and they loved the Halloween store,” Walimire said. “We loved the stuffed animals and the rides and the Nature Park. We had to come one more time.”