1955 – Work was underway on the new County Beach at the foot of White Street. A wall was being built into the water around the West Martello Tower, and sand would be placed on the inside to cover a rocky area. Steps would lead to the ocean from the wall for the convenience of bathers.

1917 - Ground was broken for the first Naval Air Station on Trumbo Point. The new air facility was on land rented from the Florida East Coast Railroad.

1919 – The Key West Branch of the Afro-American Independent Insurance Co. held a luncheon reception for ministers of the city at Newman Methodist Episcopal Church. The church was richly decorated with flowers and potted plants, and “the entire affair was one of the greatest events of the season.” 

1910 – The four-masted schooners Carrie A. Lowe and the Charles A. Dumas came into Key West with supplies for the Florida East Coast Railroad and the Mallory Steamship Lines. With their arrival, there were five four-masted schooners in the harbor.

The library has a wealth of books by, about and inspired by Jane Austen. We also have video adaptions of her works, a Great Courses series on her work and life and much more. We invite you to explore and have fun.

2008 – The dilapidated, Depression-era bandstand at Bayview Park in Key West was torn down. The bandstand had once been a community hub and the site of concerts, political rallies, and high school graduations.

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1974 – Fire destroyed the La Plaza grocery at 630 Fleming Street in Key West and an adjacent store and conch house at 628 and 624 Fleming. An Elizabeth Street home was damaged. The grocery building, across from the Key West Library, originally housed Pierce Bros. Hardware, established 75 years earlier.

With the Libby app, you can borrow eBooks, eAudiobooks, digital magazines and more from the Monroe County Public Library.

Freegal Music offers unlimited, ad-free streaming and a choice of more than 18 million songs.

1962 – Key West City Commissioner John dePoo was demanding that the archway signs proclaiming Telegraph Lane to be “Mitchell Wolfson Way” be removed as they had never been formally approved.

1990 – Key West Mayor Tony Tarracino and Corrine Crockett of Blue Heaven, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, cut the ribbon for the first Bahama Village Caribbean Festival. Musician Coffee Butler provided live entertainment, and island food and handicrafts were available along Petronia Street. Similar festivals were planned for the first Sunday of every month.

1961 – Key West marine salvager Chet Alexander recovered a large, coral-encrusted anchor from an old wooden shipwreck found between the Sand Key Lighthouse and the reef. Alexander suspected the vessel was caught in a hurricane when it went down.

1963 – Leonard “Mike” Warren celebrated his 20th anniversary of working at the snack and magazine stand in the Key West Federal Building. Warren was considered one of the city’s most popular and hardest working businessmen.

1962 – The U.S. flag was raised over Mallory Square to mark the 140 years since Lt. Matthew C. Perry had first flown it over Key West in 1822. Two boy scouts from Key West’s Troop 258 raised the colors while the Fleet Sonar School band played and Navy and civilian dignitaries looked on.

The second Key West BookFest will be held from 10 am- 1 pm on Saturday, November 15.

1957 – Miguel Garcia became the first person to water ski from Havana to Key West, accomplishing the feat in four hours and 15 minutes and using one ski. Garcia was backed by the Cuban National Sports Commission and the Key West Chamber of Commerce, which held a reception for him after his landing.

1937 – A boat owned by Key West’s Thompson Enterprises arrived with pineapples from the company’s plantation in Cuba. Employees of the Granday Pineapple Cannery were notified to report to work at 7 a.m. the following morning.

1958 – Congress agreed that the old Navy Hospital and Commissary building at Tropical and United streets in Key West could be turned over to the Monroe County School District for use as its maintenance headquarters.

1915 – A group of Key Westers took the railroad to Sugarloaf Key for a tour of the Chase sponge farm. Some of the old spongers in the group said, “they did not think such things could be done by artificial raising of sponges.”