1862 – Rear Admiral Chas. Wilkes of the West India Squadron ordered the U.S. steamer Santiago de Cuba to sail from Havana to Key West to acquire provisions before cruising the Florida Straits to search for Confederate blockade runners.
1899 – Key West resident Thomas Otto reported that, on top of yellow fever troubles, the island had been affected by a gale that blew for many days, which prevented steamers from bringing supplies. Food became scarce and expensive: “Butter ran out entirely, and, in one day went up to 60 and 75 cents per pound. It was like a siege.”
1922 – The Woman’s Club moved the Key West Library from the “Oldest House” at 322 Duval Street across the street to the Albury building at 417 Duval St.
1923 – With the opening of the sponge fishing season, several Key West vessels left for the sponging grounds near Bahia Honda.
1927 – The Key West Alacranes baseball team defeated the Douglass School team 1-0, in the first ever “no run, no hit, no man to second” game in the history of the city.
1934 – An advance unit of 50 men was at Lower Matecumbe Key to start preliminary work on new bridges. Their task was to build housing before an additional 250 men arrived.
1939 – Naval Station Key West was formally reopened. To celebrate, factory whistles, church bells, and sirens were sounded for 10 minutes. A parade then went down Duval Street, followed by a dance.
1940 – The re-built Strand Theater on Duval Street opened. The building had been destroyed by a fire in 1934.
1941 – Monroe County residents were asked to gather all their old automobile license plates and turn them in to the tax collector as part of a national scrap metal drive.
2008 – Former Key West Mayor and beloved island personality Captain Tony Tarracino died at the age of 92.
2013 – The Studios of Key West, a not-for-profit arts organization, bought the 1950s Art Deco Masonic complex at 533 Eaton Street for $2.2 million.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The interior of the lobby of the Strand Theater at 527 Duval Street. Photo gift of Howard England. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.