April 7
- Florida Keys History Center
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
1935 – Joseph “Sloppy Joe” Russell purchased the building that formerly housed the Victoria Restaurant on the corner of Duval and Greene streets in Key West, and he moved his Sloppy Joe’s Bar from its former location at 428 Greene Street to the building.
1939 – The schooner Western Union was launched. It was the last large schooner built in Key West. Norberg Thompson built the ship for lease to the Western Union Telegraph Company.
1949 – Fausto’s Food Palace, a new, “ultra-modern” store, opened at 522 Fleming Street. The store was owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Carl Weekley. Mrs. Ana Weekley was the daughter of the late Fausto Castillo who originally founded the business.
1956 – Ninety-six persons were taking adult or night classes at Key West’s Douglass School, and among the courses offered were Spanish, general education, tailoring, nursing, and automobile repair. The Spanish class taught by Winifred Sands Johnson would soon leave on a trip to Cuba.
1976 – Two staff members from the Czechoslovakian embassy in Washington, DC, were in Key West on behalf of the Cuban government to try to determine ownership of the San Carlos property. Photostatic copies of records for the building were given to the Czechs by the county Tax Appraiser.
1978 – Former President Richard Nixon and his wife Pat were staying at the Ocean Reef Resort on North Key Largo.
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.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Aerial view of the Boot Key Bridge and Marathon, 1960s. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
