1926 – The War Department awarded a contract to the Over Sea Co. to construct a new causeway to Fort Taylor. The new land bridge was expected to give easier access to the old fort, making it more attractive to the many visitors to the island.

1907 – The Key West Chamber of Commerce voted to employ counsel to prosecute firms using “Key West” on boxes of cigars not made in the city.

1953 – The Lower Keys Property Association held a gala “Lights On!” celebration at the Old Wooden Bridge Fishing Camp on Doctor’s Arm, Big Pine Key. Over 400 Keys residents came together to hail the advent of electricity on the island.

1926 – The shipment of Cuban pineapples from Key West by train was stymied when 150 men who transferred the fruit from the steamships to the rails walked off the job, demanding 60 cents an hour instead of 50 cents. The pineapple season was at its peak, and 160 railcar loads had shipped the day before.

1956 – Cuban Treasurer General Plutarco Villalobo Marquez presented a marble bust of José Martí to the Key West Art & Historical Society. Mayor C.B. Harvey thanked the Cuban government in both English and Spanish for the gesture of friendship.

2011 – Key West businessman and philanthropist Frank Romano died at 88. Romano and partner Joe Liszka founded the popular Key West Aloe cosmetics company, and they were instrumental in the creation of Fantasy Fest. Romano also led the charge for a formal Keys tourism marketing program and the “bed tax” that now funds the local Tourist Development Council.

1926 – Monroe County High School was accredited by the Florida Department of Education as a Class A institution. Graduates could now enter Florida colleges and universities without taking an examination.

1946 – The Key West General Hospital invited eight physicians to be on its consulting staff: Drs. Thomas O. Otto, surgeon; E. Clay Shaw, urologist; Sterling E. Nichols, cardiologist; Michael Price DeBoe, ENT; Ralph Jack, obstetrician; Wiley M. Sams, dermatologist; and Francis W. Glenn, orthopedist.

1955 – Work on the stands for the Key West High School Stadium was well underway, and the job was expected to be completed within the week. When done, the stands would seat 3,076 people.

1976 – The Monroe County Courthouse in Key West was being renovated for the upcoming national Bicentennial celebration. Among the improvements were new flooring and new interior paint. A 20-by-8-foot mural depicting the history of the Keys was also being rendered by artist Paul Stevens.

1946 – The Navy announced a delay in returning the Key West Aquarium to the city, as they wanted to make sure it was in the same condition as when received. The concern was in finding photographs of the WPA murals, so the artwork could be properly restored. The aquarium had been used as a rifle range during the war.

1902 – Ground was broken for the foundation of the Key West Armory, and the John Lowe sawmill was cutting timber for the building’s construction.

1926 – Monroe County Sheriff Roland Curry arrested the promoter of a Stock Island cockfighting arena while a fight was underway. Fala Rodriguez was charged with cruelty to animals and placed under $100 bond.

1976 – The Key West Junkanoos left for New Orleans for three days of performances at the 7th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Fair. The Junkanoos played traditional Bahamian and Caribbean music blended into a Key West style.

1892 – The Key West Library Association was organized in the Masonic Temple located over the First National Bank on Simonton Street. Judge James W. Locke was president, Mary A. Taylor, secretary, and J. Fogarty, treasurer. The Association had a public library of 1,200 volumes and a free reading room supported by dues and fees of members and patrons. Mrs. William Delacy was the Librarian.

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.