January 25

Inspection in front of Navy building 124, Key West, ca. 1970. The USS Gilmore is behind at the dock.

1912 – The Railroad Celebration Committee hosted over 1,500 men from U.S. and foreign warships, the Army Barracks, National Guard, and Naval Militia at the baseball grounds. The mayor thanked them for their work in making the celebration a success.

1928 – The first Overseas Highway from Key West to Miami was opened. The road had a water gap from Lower Matecumbe Key to No Name Key that was traversed by ferry.

1946 – The submarine tender USS Howard W. Gilmore arrived in Key West. The big tender was the long-running flagship for the submarine squadron assigned to Key West.

1955 – Guy Lombardo, famous orchestra leader, left for New York after spending a short vacation at the Casa Marina Hotel. He planned to return to Key West in April for some fishing.

1998 – The World Wildlife Fund backed a plan to put a toll on US 1 through the Florida Keys. The last push for a toll had ended in 1995, when the Department of Transportation said that such funds could only be used for road improvements.

2006 – Florida Sea Grant and Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association held a panel discussion to gather input on the needs of Keys lobstermen. The industry was recovering from a devastating 2005 season, when four hurricanes either brushed or directly struck the Florida Keys.

2016 – Former Marathon resident and boy-band singer Nick Carter was sued by a bouncer at Key West’s Hog’s Breath bar for injuries he sustained in a January 13 scuffle with Carter and friends after the entourage was refused service due to their intoxication.

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

Image: Inspection in front of Navy building 124, Key West, ca. 1970. The USS Gilmore is behind at the dock. From the Ida Woodward Barron Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.