1926 – The Monroe County Board of Public Instruction opened the bidding process for the construction of a kindergarten building at the corner of South and Reynolds streets and a high school annex at White and Seminary streets. Both projects had been long needed in Key West.

1951 – The Key West Police Department announced the start of a drive to rid bars of underage customers. The task was made difficult because over 2,000 Navy men in the area were under 21, but police said the crackdown would affect all minors, whether they were in uniform or not.

1966 – The Key West Yacht Club opened its new marina with 48 berths for vessels up to 70 feet, a fuel dock, 110- and 220-volt electricity, and a blacktop road leading to the docks from North Roosevelt Boulevard.

1904 – Mrs. Clarence K. Till, widow of police officer Till, was presented with a deed to a house and lot bought by the citizens of Key West after her husband was killed in the line of duty.

1906 – Work commenced on the new Triumph Coffee Mill building on a lot behind the Pohalski Cigar Factory. The corrugated iron structure was expected to take three weeks to complete.

1956 – The members of the First Baptist Church in Key West voted to build a new church building at their property on the corner of Eaton and Bahama streets, after the previous structure had been destroyed by fire a month earlier.

1926 – Two men attempted to break into the Key West Custom House by drilling a 12-inch diameter hole through the basement wall, hoping to access the area where seized liquor, jewelry, cigars, narcotics, and other valuables were kept. A night watchman encountered the men and fired shots at them, but they escaped via the waterfront.

1912 – The new Monroe Theater at 623 Duval was screening the 1911 Irish feature “Arrah-na-pogue,” with admission at 10, 15 or 20 cents based on seating. The Airdome at 509 Duval Street in Key West was showing the 1903 film “The Great Train Robbery.” Admission was 10 cents for unlimited viewing.

1995 – The City of Key West and the Historic Florida Keys Foundation were evaluating plans to replace the chain link fence surrounding the Key West Cemetery with a historic-looking fence resembling wrought-iron. One estimate priced the project at $238,000.

1946 – The Walter R. Mickens Post No. 6021 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, under commander Alphonso Dean, received its charter.

1956 – The American Salvage Co. of New York was bringing up twisted steel remains and a cargo of ore from the freighter SS Edward Luckenbach, sunk just north of Key West. The 456-foot Luckenbach sank in 1942, when it inadvertently steamed into a WWII minefield.

1936 – E.A Pynchon, administrator of the Works Progress Administration for Florida, visited Key West to confer with local officials and to assess the sewerage work being done by WPA crews.

1956 – A Navy ZPG-2 blimp malfunctioned shortly after take-off at Boca Chica Naval Air Station and crashed, taking out 1,800 feet of power lines and damaging the road. All crewmen were OK, suffering only bumps and bruises.

1926 – Richmond Pearson Hobson, a retired Navy admiral, former U.S. Congressman, and leading proponent of Prohibition, delivered an address titled “The Crisis” at Old Stone Methodist Church in Key West. Hobson’s visit to the island was sponsored by the Anti-Saloon League.

1961 – A documentary film about Hurricane Donna and its aftermath was presented at the Marathon Theater. The screening was presented by the Marathon Chamber of Commerce, with ticket sales to benefit their advertising campaigns.

1946 – Key West City Manager Dave King explained the reasons for recent bar raids on the island: The serving of alcohol past midnight; minors working and drinking in the bars; and fights and the use of profane language by patrons.

1996 – Key West native and aviation pioneer Steven F. Whalton died on his 96th birthday. He was the third employee of Pan American World Airways.

1975 – City of Key West officials met with members of the Old Island Restoration Commission, and all agreed to an ordinance that would give the OIRC jurisdiction over the construction, repair, or alteration of structures in the city’s historic district.

1960 – Monroe County Supervisor of Registration Wm. “Billy” Freeman reported a total of 16,027 registered voters – the most in county history. Of those, 15,407 were Democrats, 516 were Republicans, and 104 were registered as Independents.

1978 – Federal Judge William O. Mehrtens ruled that 11 stilt houses built in shallow waters to the west of Key West had to be removed.