Saving Stuart, Florida: Rebuilding America’s Happiest Seaside Town

by Blake Fontenay

It was a common story in the 1980 downtowns were dying.
Stuart was right there with the ill-fated. Businesses had largely abandoned Stuart's historic buildings, leaving the streets deserted. The St. Lucie River, which should have been an asset, was more of a liability, befouled with pollution, some of it from the city's sewer system. The southernmost leg of Interstate 95 hadn't been completed yet, meaning US 1, the town's main thoroughfare, was clogged with traffic that had no intention of stopping in this dirty backwater. Indeed, downtown was in such bad shape that Martin County government was thinking of relocating its courthouse. But the city had one thing going for a core group of citizens who fought back to restore downtown into an award-winning showpiece. Author Blake Fontenay shares the story of Stuart's revitalization.

128 pages, Paperback

Published December 31, 2024

About the author

Blake Fontenay has lived nearly his whole life south of the Mason-Dixon line. After working as a newspaper reporter, editorial writer, and columnist for over 25 years—ten of them at the Commercial Appeal in Memphis—he is now a recovering journalist. His bill-paying job is serving as communications director for three departments of Tennessee state government. He and his wife, Lynn, live in Old Hickory, Tennessee. The Politics of Barbecue is his first novel.