At the foot of King Street, now U.S. 41 North, Punta Gorda’s Railroad Dock was the hub of the city’s commercial activity from 1897 until 1928. Along with serving as the commercial seafood center, it was the port for steamers connecting with the railroad. Henry Plant’s railroad company built the pier after deciding to abandon the Long Dock, which extended to twelve feet of water, while the King Street dock reached only five feet of water. The South Florida Railroad at Tampa was to be the only rail connected with deep water on Florida’s west coast. Punta Gorda’s Railroad Wharf served the community until 1928. A circa 1908 view from in front of the warehouse shows a few fish-packing houses to the left, with the Hotel Punta Gorda in the distance. A fire on the dock in 1915 dealt a crippling blow to the fish industry, and immediate rebuilding followed by the Chadwick Brothers, the West Coast Fish Company, and the Punta Gorda Fish Company. The wharf continued in use by the fishing industry until 1928, when construction of the Barron Collier Bridge began and fish wholesalers moved to the Maud Street Dock.