August 22

La Concha Hotel at 430 Duval Street. Photo used in the Miami Herald of October 7, 1961.

1905 – The cornerstone of the National Bank building at the corners of Duval and Front streets in Key West was laid. John T. Sawyer, one of the directors, placed a silver coin under the stone.

1961 – After word spread that the La Concha Hotel building had been donated to the Catholic Church by owner Ed Ball for use as a home for the aged, Key Westers were trying to figure out ways to keep it a “going concern.” Ideas included purchase by the city of Key West for a city hall or for local businessmen to use it as a commercial center.

1967 – Julius F. Stone, the WPA administrator who saved the Key West economy by reshaping the Keys into a tourist resort, died in New South Wales, Australia.

1969 – Gerald Adams died at the age of 69. For more than a quarter of a century he was connected with his father in the operation of Adams Dairy, the last dairy to produce milk in Key West. He served on the Monroe County School Board from 1948 to 1961, and the Gerald Adams School was named for him.

1972 – Key West native Pete Nebo died at age 62. In the late 1920’s Nebo was of the best flyweight and lightweight fighters in the country.

---

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

Image: La Concha Hotel at 430 Duval Street. Photo used in the Miami Herald of October 7, 1961. From the DeWolfe and Wood Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.