April 27

The highway by-pass to go around Boca Chica Naval Air Station under construction. The by-pass opened on June 18, 1957.

1898 – The Army took over the Cuban telegraph cable from Western Union. Telegraph Superintendent M.L. Hellings was commissioned as captain in the Army and remain to direct a secret intelligence network in Cuba he had organized using Western Union employees.

1956 – Monroe County Commissioner Harry Harris announced that plans for U.S. 1 to bypass Boca Chica Naval Air Station were sent to the Florida Road Department for final approval. At the time, the highway cut through the air station, which was creating problems for both the Navy and civilians. The new bypass would skirt around the base on the Gulf side.

1970 – A Key West-based Cessna airplane was buzzed and fired upon by two Cuban MiG fighter jets about 30 miles off the Cuban coast as pilot Fred Johnson and passenger Jack Lynn searched the Florida Straits for a stolen shrimp boat. Lynn, the owner of the boat, suspected it had been hijacked to Cuba.

1980 – A squall lasting 45 minutes swept across Key West and the Straits of Florida, with wind gusts up to 73 m.p.h. recorded. Vessels participating in the Mariel boatlift were struck, sinking several craft and leaving at least a dozen dead. At one point, Coast Guard Station Key West received 22 “mayday” calls within five minutes.

1992 – The film “Matinee,” starring John Goodman, began shooting on Smathers Beach.

Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

Image: The highway by-pass to go around Boca Chica Naval Air Station under construction. The by-pass opened on June 18, 1957. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.