January 16

Pan American Airways first passenger plane, with onlookers, as it prepares to fly from Key West to Havana on January 16, 1928.

1833 – A fire started in the Key West home of Pardon C. Greene. Ultimately, an

adjacent hotel and six other houses were destroyed, along with money sent to purchase the cargo of the Pulaski, which had wrecked on the reef. The loss was estimated at $50,000.

1845 – Dade Lodge No. 14 of the Free and Accepted Masons was chartered at Key West with O.S. Noyes as the first Master.

1926 – Preliminary work commenced to mark the beginning of the waterfront boulevard that would run along six miles of Key West’s shoreline. The Tidewater Construction Co., contractors for the $682,000 project, were using the old Ruy Lopez cigar factory as project headquarters.

1928 – The first transoceanic airplanes in passenger service flew from Key West’s Meacham Field to Havana. The first Pan-American-operated plane carried mail and three passengers: Thomas Bryson, editor of the Citizen; Louis Bragassa, deputy collector of customs; and Albert Caviness, assistant emigration inspector. Passengers on a second plane were: Jorge Ponce, Cuban consul to Key West; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Peyson of New York; and Commander John Loudon, aide to President Coolidge.

1941 – Members of the Florida Department of Education, military officers, and city and county officials met in Key West to outline a plan to train island men for jobs in the defense industry. Apprenticeships in blueprints and drafting, vocational mathematics, and machine and electrical work were the objectives.

1963 – The Florida State Park Board announced the receipt of the 61 acres on Bahia Honda Key given by Monroe County for use as a new park, which, combined with land already held by the state, totaled 74 acres.

1984 – Construction of the Key West Beach Club, a 58-unit luxury condominium at 1500 Atlantic Boulevard in Key West, was approved by the City Commission.

1991 – “Fat Albert,” the tethered communication/surveillance balloon at the Cudjoe Key Air Force Base, broke loose from its mooring, and after drifting north was brought down over the Everglades.

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

Image: Pan American Airways first passenger plane, with onlookers, as it prepares to fly from Key West to Havana on January 16, 1928. Gift of Pan American World Airways. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.