1910 – The Ruy Lopez Company opened its new cigar factory near the County Road (Flagler Avenue) in Key West. Manager John Wardlow led the move so efficiently from the old factory on Greene Street that when workers reported for duty to the new building, they “did not lose an hour.”
1911 – The Cuban community celebrated the anniversary of the Cuban Revolution with a parade, a ball at the Cuban Club, and the dedication of the Mercedes Hospital for the poor.
1924 – A grand pageant and parade went down Key West’s Duval Street to celebrate the dedication of the new San Carlos building on Duval Street. The parade contained many floats, including a replica of the Battleship Maine.
1932 – Dr. Domingo Mendez Capote, former vice president of Cuba, was the principal speaker at the celebration of “El Grito de Yara” held at the city cemetery.
1936 – After unveiling a plaque memorializing José Martí at the San Carlos, officials and member of Cuban Navy led by the Cuban Marine Band marched to the Battleship Maine plot in the cemetery where a brief Ceremony was held.
1999 – Citing economic and personal property concerns, Monroe County Mayor Emeritus Wilhelmina Harvey announced she would move to loosen the county’s ban against short term rentals in residential neighborhoods.
2004 – Jozef Burai, who performed as the Key West sunset celebration’s only authorized statue-like “silver man,” was having his livelihood threatened by multiple pirate imposters, who were circumventing the city’s panhandling laws by claiming to be “street performers.”
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Cuban Navy marching in the 500 block of Duval Street during the San Carlos opening 1924. Photo by Burgert Brothers from the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.