1956 – Max Marmorstein sold the Casa Marina Hotel for $800,000 to businessman Beale Poste of Granville, Ohio. Marmorstein had owned the luxury hotel since 1950.

1988 – The Key West City Commission, sitting as the Board of Adjustment, approved plans to rebuild the Cuban Club at 1102 and 1108 Duval Street. The original building had been destroyed by fire in 1983.

1986 – Monroe County Commissioners wanted to get rid of the Boot Key Bridge, which cost taxpayers thousands of dollars a year to maintain and operate, just so vehicles could access a radio station and trap factory on the otherwise empty island. The bridge tender testified that the bridge had to be opened for boat traffic 1429 times over the previous two months.

1956 – A fisheries report for September 1955 was released that showed Monroe County landed the largest shrimp catch in Florida, with 844,320 pounds brought into Keys ports during the month.

1982 – Suwa, a male dolphin owned by Little Torch Key resident Betty Brothers and kept on her property, attacked a man after he entered the private lagoon to swim with the creature. Suwa rammed the man six times, causing severe liver lacerations and the rupture of a “major” vein in his stomach.

1926 – Police Chief Cleveland Niles began a policy of ringing the fire bell at nine o’clock in the evening to remind Key West juveniles 16 years and younger that there was a curfew and it was time for them to go home.

1955 – Albert Bosa revived the Key West Comparsa dancers. They held rehearsals at the Cuban Club.

1926 – The Brethren meeting at the Gospel Chapel at 720 Southard Street in Key West began a three-day conference that would run until the close of Sunday evening services.

1956 – The auto ferry TMT Cuba began service between Key West and Havana, becoming the second ferry service at the time to provide passage between the two cities. Local and Cuban government and military officials were on hand for the “bon voyage” party held at the ferry’s dock at the end of Duval Street.

1976 – The long-time home of Alvin and Eva Scott at 814 Windsor Lane in Key West was destroyed by fire. Passers-by rescued the elderly couple from the burning house, with Mrs. Scott requiring particular assistance, as she was completely blind. 

1956 – Monroe County Juvenile Court Judge Eva Warner Gibson called attention to an alarming increase in cases of juvenile delinquency. In an average year, she would sentence six to nine offenders to State industrial Schools. But in January and February of 1956, six had already been sentenced – a trend that could see 36 Monroe youth sent to State Schools.

1874 – Vice-President Francisco Vicente Aguilera and Secretary Hilario Cisneros of the Cuban Republic-in arms visited Key West to foster support for Cuba’s independence from Spain. They spoke at the San Carlos Institute, and a torchlight procession through the streets was held in their honor.

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

1963 – Rear Admiral Rhodam Y. McElroy, Commander of Key West Forces, was presented the Legion of Merit for his meritorious performance of duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1986 – The Old Island Restoration Commission approved the moving of a house at 411 Whitehead Street to 709 Thomas Street, so the parking lot of the La Concha Hotel could be expanded as part of the dormant hotel’s renovation before reopening.

1937 – Construction of the José Martí Monument in Bayview Park began when Raoul A. Pizer y Pollo, representing the government of Cuba, presented the structure’s cornerstone to Key West Mayor Harry C. Galey.

1912 – Keys political leader Wilhelmina Goehring Harvey was born at 1400 Petronia Street in Key West. She served on the Monroe County School Board and the Monroe County Commission, and she was the first woman to serve as Monroe County Mayor.

1908 – The first train fully equipped for carrying passengers over the Overseas Railroad left Miami for Knights Key at 11 a.m. The train, consisting of six coaches and Henry Flagler’s private car, was an official excursion and no tickets were sold for the journey.

2006 – The Friends of Fort Taylor launched a membership drive to call attention to the plight of the aging 19th century Key West fortification, which had suffered considerable damage months earlier during Hurricane Wilma.

1926 – Percy A. Cook was sales manager for the Tropical Isles Sales Corporation, a New Jersey company selling Florida Keys realty. Cook had a home on Cook’s Island, one of the Newfound Harbor Keys.