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Keys History


July 17
1935 – A study by Key West’s federal administrators showed many roofs throughout the city were in poor condition, and islanders were urged to make repairs before the rainy season went into full effect.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 161 min read


July 16
1956 – The Church of God at 905 Grinnell Street in Key West celebrated the arrival of their new pastor, the Reverend G.W. Fletcher Philips.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 151 min read


July 15
1962 – Rudy’s Bar was at 124 Duval Street, occupying the former Key West Custom House building, which had been moved to the location in 1891.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 141 min read


July 14
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 132 min read


July 13
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 122 min read


July 12
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.”

Monroe County Public Library
Jul 112 min read


July 11
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 102 min read


July 10
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 92 min read


July 9
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 82 min read


July 8
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 72 min read


July 7
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 62 min read


July 6
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 52 min read


July 5
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 42 min read


July 4
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 32 min read


July 3
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.

Monroe County Public Library
Jul 22 min read


July 2
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.

Monroe County Public Library
Jul 11 min read


July 1
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 301 min read


June 30
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.”

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 292 min read


June 29
1966 – Marine Lance Corporal Leland (Skipper) Albury, a Key West native, died from wounds he received in battle in Vietnam. Albury was a renowned tennis player for the Key West High School team, and the courts at Bayview Park are named in his honor.

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 282 min read


June 28
1905 – An appropriation of nearly $500,000 was authorized for improvements at the Key West Naval Station, including new buildings, an extension of the coal sheds, and the construction of a quay wall from the sheds to Fort Taylor.

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 271 min read
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