Early islanders relied on small boats for supplies and visitors, but growing interest in the island led developers in 1911 to build a 776-foot-long pier for larger boats and to attract tourists and investors to buy lots and build homes and businesses. In 1913, Col. John Tice, a prominent Tampa banker, built a luxurious four-bedroom summer cottage called Lotus Cottage on the end of the City Pier. An icehouse was later added and in the 1920s was converted into a fish and tropical fruit canning plant; after the cannery failed, the building was remodeled into a rental cottage named Belle Haven. In 1926, a large storm struck the pier, and pilings weakened by generations of wood-boring marine worms collapsed, washing the homes into the bay. Lotus Cottage broke up, but Belle Haven was found intact, purchased while still floating for $125, and barged around the island's north end, where it served as a home for more than 75 years. Local lore holds that when Belle Haven slid into the bay, a man staying in the cottage jumped out a window and swam to shore.