Archives: The quintessential Florida roadside attraction in Fort Myers

For more than 80 years, the Shell Factory in North Fort Myers was a popular Florida attraction. It closed at the end of September 2024.

Established in 1938, in Bonita Springs by Harold and Mildred Krantz, it started as a small shell and seashell craft store. Following a fire in 1953, the business moved to its final location on North Cleveland Avenue in North Fort Myers.

In 1997, Pam and Tom Cronin purchased and expanded the Shell Factory to include a 4.5-acre nature park, large gift shops and amusement rides.

Shell Factory, North Fort Myers, Florida, sells to developer

A nearly century-old tourist attraction in North Fort Myers, Florida, was sold for $3.925 million Jan. 15, 2026.

“When we first purchased it, it was very, very rundown,” Cronin told The News-Press in 2016. “Half of the 34 air conditioners didn’t work. And we had to replace all the ceiling tiles. The roof was leaking.”

Cronin and his wife, Pam, poured millions of dollars into the place, giving it new life with a dazzlement of restaurants, rides, shops, arcades and exotic animals. The strategy paid off, with more than 500,000 visitors annually and a streak of double-digit growth years.

Cronin’s father, the late Thomas E. Cronin, bought another old landmark in 1947: The Royal Palm Hotel. Long-since razed, the grand riverfront hotel was Fort Myers’ first tourist attraction, hosting scores of well-heeled winter visitors.

The Shell Factory site is noted for having held the title of the world’s largest shell retailer and for featuring a significant taxidermy collection. It was a staple of local tourism and despite surviving hurricanes and economic downturns, closed after its owners could no longer support the costs of the aging property.

Following the closure, 400 animals, birds, reptiles and fish, were rehoused in locations in Florida, Alabama and Michigan. 

Sources: “Shell Factory closing” published Sept. 17, 2024, and “Grand Irish wake to send Tommy Cronin off in fine style planned at his beloved Shell Factory” by Amy Bennett Williams, Feb. 16, 2018.