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The Cape Romano Pyramid House was a modern, pyramid-shaped house located on Caxambas Island, south of Marco Island in Cape Romano in the Ten Thousand Islands of Collier County, Florida. It was neighbor to the better-known Cape Romano Dome House. It was built in 1979 by Monte and Judy Innes.
History
In 1979, Monte and Judy Innes purchased a plot of land on Caxambas Island in Cape Romano, Florida. Construction began in 1979. Judy described the beginnings of construction to Coastal Breeze News in 2012:
“We couldn’t wait for the house to be finished, so we ended up living in there before it was fully constructed! It took a while, but he finally convinced me that we should go down there and live. The first thing that he did was he built this barge. Of course they brought everything out on that barge. It was Monte and this man, Harry, that built the pyramid.”
Monte and Harry built a three-story pyramid almost entirely out of cedar. The men installed four golden mirrors on the very tip of the house, which would reflect light and assume the role of a golden beacon. The front half of the pyramid contained the walled rooms of the house. The back half was a three story partially glassed-in lanai. Monte and Harry also built a small watchtower directly below the golden mirrors. During the construction, Monte and Judy lived in a tent on the second floor. Judy commented on the features of the house:
“You could pull a staircase down from the master bedroom and go up to the lookout. From there, you could see all of Marco. He had such talent. Everything was beautifully built. We had a huge waterbed in the master bedroom and he had to add extra pilings to support it.”
As the house was the first to be built on the island, even before the Dome House and Stilt Houses, there was no water or electricity on the island during the construction period. Monte solved this issue by designing a desalination system. He also built a windmill for electricity, and aviaries for Judy's pet birds. Judy remembered her pet birds and their aviaries on the island:
“All of a sudden my birds had eggs! And all of a sudden, the eggs hatched! So he decided to build me some aviaries and that was the birth of Birds Galore and I’ve had that business since 1980. That’s how I started breeding birds!”
After a few years of living in the pyramid, Judy had toucans, African grey hornbills, finches, macaws, chickens, geese, turkeys, ducks, pheasants, peacocks, a black swan, skunks, emus, dogs and horses. At peak there were two horses (Twiggy and KoKo), five emus and five aviaries. She told Ocean Breeze News in 2012:
“Every time I came home from Naples I brought something home with me that was alive!”
During the 'golden years' of the 1980s, Monte, Judy, her pets, and their daughter, Heather all lived in the pyramid house. Heather took a boat to and from school, as did Monte and Judy when they left the island. They used a small pass located behind the house. However, after a few years, the pass had become too shallow due to erosion, so Monte purchased a small ATV to drive to the west side of the island where the family now docked their boats. July described the erosion process:
“On the pass side it never eroded. The reason why the pass disappeared is because all the sand from the Gulf went into the pass. When that erosion started, it just didn’t stop.”
The island's shoreline began to rapidly erode in 1986. By 1987, the Innes' two horses had to be removed from the island, as the eroding shoreline had made it unsafe for them to remain. Judy explained:
“It was time for them to go. Marco Dock and Piling came out. We lifted them on a trailer with a crane and onto the barge.”
In 1988, Judy had a horse-related injury, a broken shoulder. She was unable to stay on the island, and regained her strength at her Naples residence. That same year, Monte went missing and has not been seen since. During that time, Heather would visit the island to care for the animals, and she began the process of removing them in 1988. Most of them were taken to the Judy Innes' mother's Naples home. Also in 1988, the house was threatened by the approaching coastline, which just three years prior had been 2,000 feet out. Judy decided to sell the home, as it was no longer being used and was in danger of being swallowed by the sea. Unfortunately, shortly after being sold, the house was destroyed by a tornado. She described the ordeal in 2012:
“You know what took the pyramid? A tornado. We sold the place to a couple from Ohio and the water was right at the edge. They bought it thinking they were going to save it but before they even moved in a tornado came and took it. Monte always said, ‘nothing is ever gonna take this away!’ Boy were we wrong!”
Although it was only inhabited for 10 years, the house gained recognition for its unique architecture, zoo-like atmosphere, and the site of many social events. Judy Innes reminisced:
“I remember it all so clearly. There was hardship but it was wonderful. It was the best ten years of my life.”