For decades, it sat quietly, shrouded in mystery and virtually invisible to passersby.
Just steps off Old 41 Road in the heart of Bonita Springs, Shangri-La Springs might as well have been miles away, secluded behind its growing wall of green.
“I’ve been here most of my entire life and always knew it was there,” said Maikol Henriquez, executive director of Bonita Springs Historical Society. “It had gates up and I’d look over and wonder what it was. There was a certain aura around it. It was very mysterious, but not in a negative way.”
But slowly, things began to change. After being closed for two decades, the property was opened to the public in 2015, grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting included.
Then, last October, the wall separating the property from the eyes of the world was removed.
“When I gave the OK to take it down, it was a much bigger deal than I thought,” general manager Lee Bellamy said laughing. “It wasn’t even a wall really. There was a chain link fence and a humongous hedge row had grown unattended for 25 to 30 years.”