A dozen or so long-time residents turned out Friday to bid farewell to an icon that has been part of their families for decades.

The gathering was small, the spill of emotion great, as “Cape kids,” Cape “pioneers” and others gathered in front of the Cape Coral Yacht Club Ballroom before its pending demolition this month.

They shared memories made and celebrations held at the club house built by the developers of what then was only the dream of a city to come.

Gloria Tate, whose family was one of the first to move to Cape Coral and who twice served on City Council, was one of the organizers of the intimate, by-invitation event that was both a look back and a look ahead.

“My life started here and it looks like my life is not going to end here,” Tate said of the building she enjoyed as a teen, loved as an adult, and fought hard to save.

She said she was happy that some its mid-century architectural elements would be repurposed.

“I think that what makes me the happiest is we’re going to have the fireplace,” said Tate. “We’re going to hang around that fireplace, and we’re going to talk about these days and remember this building and all the memories it had. I don’t think there was a wedding, a funeral, a celebration, a birthday party, the Vietnam War, that we didn’t come here. And if not, we were on the fishing pier or we were on the beach watching the sunset.

She paused.

“And it’s extremely sad. But I know that progress is just that, and I look forward to a new building as sad as that may be.”

Donna Schuman Germain’s family also was among the Cape’s first.

Born here, she is one of the original “Cape kids.”

Germain returned “home” after college and is the president & CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral.

“As somebody who was born and raised here, in a city that doesn’t have a lot of history this building meant so much,” she said, her voice breaking. “Like everything, we will embrace progress, but we’re really sad to see the history that we had left, gone her voice breaking.

Charlie Pease also grew up in the Cape. He met his wife, Erica, here and they held their wedding reception in the Ballroom.

In 2007, it was the place to hold special events — a beautiful waterfront venue that also was affordable, he said, adding he has shared this with city officials as plans for a new “resort-style” complex move forward.

“We need to find a way to make this affordable for our residents, for people like us,” Pease said.

“This was one of the only true community venues where we could have this beautiful backdrop and we could come in here and do it as two teachers.”

Attendees shared a program similar to those prepared for funerals and memorials.

On the cover, was the dedication: “In Memory of The Cape Coral Yacht Club 1962-2024 and the words “‘The Dash’ poem, by Linda Ellis, speaks to the values of the ‘Dash’ that is between birth and passing. We celebrate the date of birth and mourn the date of passing. But what matters the most is the dash between those years. That Yacht Club’s dash represents the time spent alive, entertaining and working for the community of Cape Coral. Its dash may have only lasted 60 years, but those 60 years leave a legacy to remember cherish and savor.”

The program concluded with the hanging of a memorial wreath.

The city of Cape Coral is in the process of razing most of the complex that the Rosen Brothers, Leonard and Jack, built along the riverfront as an amenity for those who were snapping up lots in the “waterfront wonderland” they were selling nationwide.

The free-membership club complex — which also included a pool, tennis courts, fishing pier, beach, marina and soon, a teen center — opened on June 10, 1962, just four years after the first family moved into the Cape’s first house on Riverside Drive.

Nearly 2,000 residents welcomed the opening of what those first residents came to call “the hub and the heart” of their fledgling community.

In 1973, it was sold to the city which has operated the complex and grounds as a park.

The Yacht Club was set for refurbishment and upgrades as part of the city’s $60 million Parks Master Plan but the city began to explore the possibility of a more concerted redevelopment.

Damage from Hurricane Ian — which took out the pier and damaged most of the facilities — then spurred a whole new vision.

City Council voted to demolish most of the buildings to build a resort-style “destination.” Plans call for a new two-story community center, two resort-style pools, new piers, and a four-story parking garage.

The cost has not been determined but has been estimated as high as $110 million with possible funding to come from revenue bonds.

The city also is exploring a public-private partnership, an arrangements could help offset some of the construction and/or operational costs.

Editor’s note: This story has been updates to correct a first name.