How Many Mackles?

Marco Island Historical Society’s new curator of collections, Heather Otis, out did herself with her first exhibit, focusing on the homes that were designed and built for Marco Island by the Mackle Brothers, the leaders of Deltona Corporation, who began the development of modern Marco Island in the mid-60s. All the glamour and glitz of the early model homes of Marco Island are wonderfully displayed in the Sandlin Gallery, which features large, rotating displays at the popular museum. Otis and her colleagues are making a massive effort to identify surviving Mackle-built homes on the island. The exhibit, The Florida House, Marco Island’s Mackle-Built Model Homes, was officially kicked off on Thursday, March 13 at the Marco Island Historical Museum. 

Though Otis took ill and was unable to attend her own coming out party,  MIHS chief executive officer Pat Rutledge didn’t miss a beat in filling in for Otis. After all, she’s been overseeing her energetic curator’s efforts for the past several months.

"I'm very grateful to the Island Country Club Charitable Foundation,” Rutledge told a full house in the museum’s lobby area. “The Florida House exhibit dives into the intriguing history of Marco Island's development, stemming from a vision of three brothers who aspired to create a paradise island where people could live, work, and play. Elliott, Robert and Frank Jr. -The Mackles - along with their company, the Deltona Corporation, were the driving force behind modern Marco Island.”

One of the highlights of the comprehensive exhibit is a large map of Marco Island, where museum staff and volunteers are attempting to identify all of the Mackle-Built homes that were built between 1965-1978. Yellow push pins identify houses built between 1965-1978. Red pins identify confirmed Mackle homes. Otis and her staff also did their work in identifying all of the model homes designed by beloved Deltona architect Herb Savage, who died weeks before turning 100 on Marco Island. Savage, a local favorite, designed model homes specifically for Marco Island for the Mackle Brothers during that 14-year period.

"Deltona architect Herb Savage -and many of us know and miss Herb greatly - designed 72 unique model homes in the Florida house style,” Rutledge said. Our volunteers have been working for literally months. I think we’ve done a great job. Heather has led the team and done the research that gives us all of that history. Heather's been working on it for over six months.”

A special feature of the exhibit is a new App the museum had designed. It allows you to design your own Mackle.

“That App that we're going to be installing here in a really short time will be a permanent part of the museum,” Rutledge said. “It’s going to give people the opportunity to have the experience of buying a Marco home. I actually came up with the idea because I was thinking about color forms. I thought, wouldn't it be cool if people could design a home the way that they would have back in the 1960s? That was the idea for the App. And so this is today's version of color forms. It's really very user-friendly. We're looking for ways to introduce interactivity. We've got wonderful stories, and we tell them all through such well-curated panels and exhibits. But now we want to give people a chance to really feel what it was like to be part of history."

Board president Tish Champagne is thrilled with the exhibit.

"I think this is going to be one of the more popular exhibits we've done,” Champagne said. "I think more people on Marco Island can relate to this because there are still a few Mackle homes left. If you move here, you know the story of the Mackle Brothers. You automatically learn that from all the realtors when you're buying property. This is an exhibit that we haven't had before. This is fabulous. I'm astonished that people found our island as charming then as we do now. They brought in people from all over the world. The Mackle brothers did an incredible job of advertising Marco Island. You couldn't do something like this today. We have to really feel fortunate for the Mackle brothers."

Champagne likes the living room that was built into the display.

"I love the living room,” Champagne said. “It's so fun to go back to 1965 when the women dressed up every day." 

"I think the exhibit is wonderful,” Rutledge said. "I think that the Mackle homes are a part of our history, that sadly, in many ways, it's disappearing. And this exhibit tells those stories in a way that people can appreciate. That's what the historical society and the museum are here for. To tell the stories of Marco Island, and this is a great one to share.”

The Florida House, Marco Island’s Mackle-Built Model Homes runs through June 7. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Admission is free.