1908 – The Key West Journal, a weekly newspaper, made its first appearance. Fred H. Mathews was the editor.
1934 – Under the auspices of the WPA’s rehabilitation program for Key West, Juan Carbonell was constructing a new open-air nightclub at the corner of Duval and Front streets. The Habana Madrid Club, as it was to be called, would have a stage and dance floor surrounded by tables for guests.
1940 – Author Thelma Strabel moved into her new house by the Southernmost Point. Stroebel wrote novel “Reap The Wild Wind,” a story about Key West wreckers that was later made into a movie.
1954 – Monroe County commissioners accepted a four-acre parcel of land on Key Largo for use as a county park. The property, gifted by Charles F. Kreiter, was on the ocean side of the island behind the Rod and Reel Motel.
1955 – Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro spoke to a group of about 300 in a parking lot on Stock Island. He had attempted to speak in Key West but was blocked from doing so.
1994 – City Manager Felix Cooper named Richard Wardlow as the city’s fire chief replacing Chief Edwin Castro, who was retiring at the end of the year after a 31-year career as a firefighter.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The dance floor at the Habana Madrid Club at 425 Front Street. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.