1988 – Pritam Singh held a ground-breaking ceremony to begin construction on the ambitious redevelopment of Truman Annex in Key West.

1961 – Steel support beams, each 40 feet long and weighing 6,000 pounds, were placed atop the new Scottish Rite Temple at Eaton and Simonton streets in Key West to allow for another floor for the building.

1964 – Bernie C. Papy, 62-year-old Key West political leader, died. He had served 14 consecutive terms in the state legislature before at last being defeated in 1962. Papy was a powerful and influential Monroe County politician, and at the height of his career was called “King of the Keys.”

1995 – Fire destroyed the Copa nightclub and adjoining buildings in the 600 block of Duval Street. It was the worst fire in Key West in 72 years.

1845 – The Marine Hospital opened in Key West for the treatment of merchant marine sailors. It could accommodate approximately 50 patients.

1956 – Plans for an 18-hole course at the Key West Golf Club were submitted by Gulf Securities of Louisiana, Inc. Local leaders hoped the 6,600-yard, par 71 layout would attract top PGA and amateur events and bring additional tourism dollars to the Keys.

1936 – Prompted by the hurricane that struck the Upper Keys the previous September, a representative for the Works Progress Administration was in Key West to survey school buildings, City Hall, and the County Courthouse in preparation for making them more storm resistant.

1926 – The new issue of the Lighthouse Service Bulletin explained how drinking water was obtained for the light stations along the Florida Reef: Rainwater that fell on the painted lighthouse structures was caught and carried by gutters and pipes to 8,000-gallon storage tanks, a method that had been practiced for nearly 75 years.

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.

1994 – The number of Cuban refugees who successfully crossed the Florida Straits in 1994 surpassed the 3,656 who completed the journey in 1993. Authorities estimated that only 4 out of 10 who attempted the crossing were successful.

1926 – Jumbo, a loggerhead sea turtle, celebrated his third birthday at the aquarium at the eastern end of Key West. Jumbo had been hatched in a sandbox onboard Peter Roberts’ fishing boat and then hand-raised alongside Roberts’ dock for two years, before being transferred to the aquarium because of his increasing size.

1991 – Monroe County staff and nearly 100 volunteers collected more than 100 tons of garbage during the “Great Stock Island Clean-up.” The island had long been plagued by illegal dumping.

1946 – A plane from Cuba’s Aerovias Q airline made a 30-minute flight from Havana to Key West to establish regular air service between the two cities. Aerovias Q representatives then met with Keys officials to discuss specifics of the new connection.

1887 – As yellow fever raged across Key West, local health officers and officials of the Marine Hospital Service discussed a plan to remove people who were not “acclimated” to the disease from the island city to another key.

1923 – The local Key West baseball team defeated the visiting Havana Police Department contingent 5 to 3. Will Daughtry and “Midget” Sevilla were the outstanding players.

1983 – The $3.9 million sale of Key West’s Sands Beach Club to New York developer Austin Laber was completed. Laber revealed that he planned to demolish the three-year-old waterfront complex and build the Reach Hotel.

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.