September 3
- Florida Keys History Center
- Sep 2
- 2 min read

1857 – Key West was struck in multiple places during an intense lightning storm. The hospital at Fort Taylor was hit, and the north end of the building was destroyed. It also caught on fire, but rain soon doused the flames.
1940 – Wallace Kirke, director of the Key West Housing Authority, issued a call for bids on the construction of the J.Y. Porter Place and Fort Village housing projects. Porter Place was to be on Trumbo Island with 136 units. Fort Village, at Virginia and Fort streets, was to have 84 units for Black families of Key West.
1952 – The City of Key West became owner of Mallory Dock when Mayor C.B. Harvey presented a check for $25,000 to Gulf Atlantic Transportation Company.
1953 – The Secretary of the Navy issued reprimands to Rear Admiral Irving T. Duke, former Commander Naval Base Key West, and Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Berry, former legal officer, for their mishandling of the investigation into the Charity Carnival stag show that turned into a sexual orgy.
1960 – Keys residents auditioned for parts in the movie “All Fall Down,” a portion of which was being filmed in Key West.
1975 – The September issues of Elks Magazine (circulation 1.5 million) profiled Key West with mixed praise: “With all its charm, the town has its tacky side – its plastic storefronts, its lineup of cheap souvenir shops, used car lots, and row on row of motels. But then there’s Old Town, which is what Key West is all about. Splintered with age and painted over, Old Town survives,” it read.
2010 – The Monroe County Tourist Development Council asked that the British Petroleum Company provide $1 million toward advertising saying the waters and beaches of the Florida Keys were oil-free after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Porter Place Housing Project on Palm Drive, Key West, 1940s. From the L.P. Artman Jr. Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.