BONITA SPRINGS — Chickee builder Jimmy Wayne Holdiness and his crew built a 40 foot by 20 foot chickee at the Wonder Gardens attraction in Bonita Springs in December, which will give the attraction a place to hold educational and other events.

The chickee, which took Holdiness and his crew a few days to complete, is the same size as one he built about two years ago at the historic McSwain house, also in Bonita Springs.

The Wonder Gardens began in 1936 as The Reptile Gardens, a roadside attraction featuring animal and botanical exhibits meant to capture the nostalgia and history of old Florida. In 2015, the 3-acre Wonder Gardens was purchased by the City of Bonita Springs and is now managed by a non-profit organization.

The chickee is supported by eight thick pressure treated pine pilings, or legs, which were sunk 42 inches deep in the ground and reinforced with a 80 pound bag of concrete in the hole of each piling.

Holdiness learned how to build chickees as a child and has been working with the same core group since 1999.

“My team is a well-oiled machine,” Holdiness said. “I love the environment of working on a chickee. Being around people who love what they do makes me happy. We have a happy life. It’s tough work, but we love it.”

The Wonder Gardens was established during the height of Florida’s roadside attractions and will be celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. The 3-acre property, made up of massive banyan trees and other tropical fauna, features exhibits of tropical birds and reptiles including flamingos, alligators, otters, tortoises and a variety of large parrots. The attraction also holds educational programs and an array of other events.

The barn used by the Wonder Gardens for events was destroyed during Hurricane Ian in September 2022. Neil Anderson, Wonder Gardens president and CEO, attended the opening of the McSwain house chickee in 2024 and knew he wanted to replace the barn with a similar sized chickee.

“The barn was popular but Ian wiped it out,” Anderson said. “The chickee will be a gathering place for education related programing and maybe as a rental for family and other group gatherings. It will be a beautiful multipurpose event space that will also have some cover from the elements.”
A brick plaza will be installed as the floor of the chickee and the surrounding area. Anderson is looking forward to planning summer educational programs, in conjunction with schools, to be held in the chickee.