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July 18

  • Writer: Monroe County Public Library
    Monroe County Public Library
  • Jul 17
  • 2 min read
A group of people standing in front of a store with a sign that reads Garfunkel outfitter to men.
Garfunkel Store at 937 Fleming Street, Key West, ca. 1900.

1914 – Morris Garfunkel, who had long owned the Gulf City Furniture Company in Key West, announced he would soon be leaving the island to engage in business in Detroit, Michigan.


1925 – Monroe County commissioners vowed that any contractor hired to build a water pipeline to Key West would not be allowed to re-franchise the installation, declaring “the waterline was not to be peddled.” “It will be granted to a builder and not a promoter” was their sentiment.


1935 – Three people were arrested at the bridge worker camps in the Upper Keys and brought to Key West for trial, including a man who was arrested for illegal possession of liquor and another for vagrancy. A woman was also arrested for vagrancy – the first time a female had been detained and brought to Key West on such charges.


1943 – The U.S. Naval Air Ship (Blimp) K-74 was shot down by the German submarine U-134 near Elbow Cay on the Cay Sal Banks about 50 miles southeast of Marathon. Navy ships from Key West rescued the crew, except one man who was lost.


1993 – Author John Updike was given the Conch Prize for Literature.


1993 – The Full Moon Saloon on Simonton Street in Key West closed its doors after 12 years, a victim of changing times and increasing rent.


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


Image: Garfunkel Store at 937 Fleming Street, Key West, ca. 1900. Gift Mrs. Charles S. Mathews and Mrs. Sidney E. Mathews. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.


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