Around Town · Punta Gorda
Former airfields, forts and military museums.
Outdoor mural in Veterans Park depicting Punta Gorda's World War II pilot-training base and its aircraft.
Veterans Park, 100 Nesbit Street, Punta Gorda, FL 33950
View details →Painted by Keith Goodson in 2021 (after Edwin Wang-Ah Yip's 2002 original), the mural shows P-40 Warhawks and a P-51 Mustang over the wartime airfield. Part of the Punta Gorda Historic Mural Society's citywide collection.
Major military-history museum with more than 20,000 artifacts spanning the Revolutionary War to modern conflicts.
900 West Marion Avenue, Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
View details →Galleries are supplemented by flight simulators, virtual reality and a laser gun range, plus Saturday Huey cockpit tours. Admission $18 adults, $14 veterans, $10 youth; active-duty military free.
World War II combat-pilot training base activated in 1943, where pilots flew P-40 Warhawks and P-51 Mustangs.
Punta Gorda Airport, 28000 A-1 Airport Road, Punta Gorda, FL 33982
View details →The former airfield is today's Punta Gorda Airport. A historical photo display hangs at the south end of the Bailey Terminal, across from the ticket counters; a surviving wartime structure is used by the Experimental Aircraft Association. Please stay out of operational airfield areas.
Half-scale replica of the Washington, D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, built with granite from the same source.
Veterans Park, 100 Nesbit Street, Punta Gorda, FL 33950
View details →The outdoor memorial at the entrance to Laishley Park invites visitors to read the inscribed names and make name rubbings.
