November 18

The Casa Marina Hotel and the end of Seminole Street, ca. 1922.

1862 – Dry Tortugas diarist Emily Holder noted that she and the other women from those islands arrived at Key West for a Thanksgiving getaway at the Russell House on Duval Street. The arrival of the “three married and two young ladies created quite a sensation,” she wrote.

1918 – The Florida East Coast Hotel system announced that, with the end of World War I, the U.S. War Department had released the men and material necessary for the company to resume construction on the Casa Marina Hotel.

1930 – Key Wester Marina Williams died at age 92 and was buried from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She was thought to have been the second African American baby born on the island.

1956 – Secretary of State John Foster Dulles arrived for two weeks of rest and recuperation following a cancer operation at Walter Reed Hospital.

1964 – The establishment formerly known as the Oldest Bar at 428 Greene Street was placed “on limits” to Navy personnel. The bar reopened as Capt. Tony’s Saloon under the new proprietor Capt. Tony Tarracino.

1982 – A ground-breaking ceremony was held for the new De Poo Hospital on Kennedy Drive.

2015 – The Monroe County Planning Commission denied a proposal to erect a 199-foot radio tower on Upper Sugarloaf Key. After residents spoke out against the tower and upon closer review, it was determined that existing broadcasting infrastructure was sufficient.

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

Image: The Casa Marina Hotel and the end of Seminole Street, ca. 1922. An AeroMarine seaplane can be seen between the piers. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.