1010 - 1012 Olivia Street, Key West - The Beginning of the End

Local folk artist Ronny Bailey stopped by my office last week to show me (and my Dear Readers) his latest work a special commission of the two houses at 1010 and 1012 Olivia Street in Key West.  The owner of these houses wanted to capture the essence of these houses as they now exist because like much of old Key West, they are about to get renovated. I took a lot of photos of Ronny's art which you can see if you CLICK HERE.

If you look carefully you will seethe word "peace" printed on the wood floor in the photo above.  Ronny always includes the words love, peace, and joy in each piece he creates. He is a religious and loving person. This is how he sees life and how he relates to others. You meet this man and you immediately understand his ethos.

Ronny told me he salvaged wood from the actual houses to create these miniatures. The "metal" roofs are actually wood that he has painted to resemble metal. He carved the chickens on the front porch. Ronnie ripped a larger piece of wood to create the "plywood" floors on the front porches. The front door at 1012 Olivia Street has a screen door. Ronny had a piece of wire screen he had saved from another house from years before. He added a coat of paint to it to reduce the size of the screen to fit into the tiny door. It looked amazingly correct.Look closely at the second floor window on 1010 Olivia (three above). There you will see a hole in the window.  These are all little details that make up the story of old house like this. Ronny Bailey's art can be seen at local shows in Key West. He does prints of various pieces for folks that are not prepared to pay the cost of a major installation. No matter what you buy, you will always love it and cherish it for it shows the true beauty of our old homes.

CLICK HERE to see more photos of the two real houses. These will appear in at least one future blog as the renovation of these two iconic cottages take place.  Several years ago the owner of prior owner of the abutting property on Watson  Street told me that 1012 Olivia Street used to be a house of ill repute. He called it something else that's more descriptive.

I checked the historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when these houses were built. This area was entirely omitted in the earliest map which dates back to 1889. I did find both houses on the 1892 map but at that time they were identified as 922 and 924 Olivia Street. The addresses were respectfully changed to 1010 and 1012 Olivia in the 1889 map. The 1889 map showed a vacant lot next to 1012  Olivia. That vacant spot still exists. But the street does not show on that map. It wasn't until the 1912 map that Peerless Court (later named Watson Street) appeared on the map. In fact the street did not exist at all until that time. There were houses interspersed on the extra large block bounded by Frances on the east, Grinnell on the west, Olivia to the north, and Division Street (Truman Avenue) to the south.

I talked with Ronny about the coming renovation of these two old decrepit houses. I guess you can't blame an owner for wanting to fix up an old house and make it look nice - maybe even to sell it. The thing is if we keep fixing all the old houses there won't be any of the character left in our town except the derelicts that sit on Duval Street performing tricks or outright begging for money. This is the beginning of the end.

24 Arbutus Drive, Key West - Bank Owned Home on the Water

Just Listed, but not by me, is a Bank Owned home located at 24 Arbutus Drive in Key West, Florida. This 1832 sq ft home was built in 1964 which sits on a 6,000 sq ft (60' X 100') canal lot in the Key West suburb known as Key Haven.  I found an aerial photo taken by Cory McDonald in 1968 to which I have add an arrow to point out this house. More telling in the photo is the relative newness of all of the houses located there and the lack of trees.

I found the aerial photo below which was taken 19 years later (1987) which shows 24 Arbutus Drive from a different angle. In this photo you can see that the subdivision has more homes and more trees. I point out the addition of more trees for good reason. If you are a follower of my blog you have probably seen a lot of photos of Key West that were taken around fifty years ago. Perhaps you have noticed that there was a relative scarcity of trees in Key West at that time. I think it was the "discovery" of Key West in the 1970s that led to the renovation of the houses in Old Town which included the addition of pools and tropical gardens. In the forty or so years that followed, the island has become lush with vegetation. When I went to the Key Haven house to take photos I could not help but remember how much that area has "greened up" since I first saw Key Haven 20 some years ago.

The aerial photos also help us understand the lure Key Haven. In talking to long time Key West residents I learned that the younger generation of locals moved out to Key Haven as the older homes in the Old Town and Casa Marina areas were being purchased by out of area buyers looking for second homes. Most of the Key Haven houses are located on man made canals that provide relatively quick ocean access for boaters. These houses were also modern in construction and built for families as opposed to the cigar maker cottages that make up part of the Key West housing stock. Today many of the original homes have been expanded in various ways. Some have what I can "pop tops" while others have additions to the rear or side. The house at 24 Arbutus Lane appears to have had a carport enclosed for more interior space.  Just below you will find photos I just took of this home. I can report this house has been freshly painted in neutral tones. New floor tiles have been added in some areas of the house. The kitchen and baths have new counter-tops and new cabinet facings. There are new wall unit air conditioners throughout the house. Also, it appeared to me that the roof was replaced. (I did not get up there to verify, but the metal flashing on the sides is certainly new.)

This home has a screened patio overlooking the canal plus a large area for the kids and the pets to play. There is a dock that needs a little TLC to make it usable. The view is pretty neat. CLICK HERE to see all the photos I took of this home.

 I think this home would appeal to both a family looking for clean, affordable housing in the Key West area as well as a second home buyer who wants a Key West address but does not need to be located in Old Town. You can buy so much more of a home if you get out of the core area. This is worth a look.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 24 Arbutus Drive which is a Bank Owned property that is offered for sale at $549,900. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your home in Paradise.

812 Johnson Lane - Key West - Easter Sunday Open House

If you are in Key West and are out and about this Easter Sunday after church or after brunch, stop by my Open House at 812 Johnson Lane in Old Town Key West. I have put a GOOGLE MAP just below so that you can find me. This home will be visible to all between 12:00 to 2:00 PM.

812 Johnson Lane is located three blocks from Duval Street and about one-half block north of Truman Avenue on a single block that begins at Windsor Lane and ends at Packer Street. Most of the cottage style houses on this block date back to the beginning of the twentieth century. Several of the cottages have been renovated including one across the street that merited a Ceramic Star several years ago. This is a quiet little lane near everything, and 812 Johnson Lane is a bright little star on this street.

The front cottage was totally renovated in 2014. All interiors were gutted and replaced. Today there are two new large bedrooms with ample closet space, recessed lighting, crown molding, and new floors. There's a new travertine marble bath and a cute new kitchen complete with new cabinetry, granite counter-tops, and stainless steel appliances. The house is laid out with two bedrooms up front off the main hallway. The open living area is at the rear where beveled glass doors open out to the covered rear porch that overlooks the heated pool that is 5' deep. I mention the depth because size matters to some people.

 

The covered porch looks not only provides shelter from the sun but also provides a comfortable and protected space for poolside dining. You'll be surprised at how much time we Key Westers spend outside - that's a big part of the reason many of left our lives in the frozen north.

There is a second cottage at the far side of the pool. The owner obtained permission to add a bath and laundry to the cottage. There is also an outdoor shower on the back side of the cottage. The lot extends 117 feet from Johnson Lane to the rear property line. That's deep for a property in Old Town. When you look up to the sky you can actually see the sky and sunshine. There are nice trees on the neighboring houses which the neighbors get to take care of. Here, the owner gets to take care of tanning. This property would make an excellent vacation rental!

812 Johnson Lane is offered at $769,000. Please stop by and see me or CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this really cute two cottage buying opportunity. Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

The Long Ago Good Friday

 THE LONG AGO GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday fell on April 19th in the year 1957. It was the Good Friday I will never forget. i was ten years old. My dad arrived home late that night and walked in the front door with a box in his hands. He said something like "Son come here." He called me "son" a lot. I wonder if other guys who grew up in the 1950s got called "son" as well.

I approached him and looked inside the box not having any suspicion of what might be in there. Four years earlier he pulled a similar maneuver on New Year's Eve. On that date he was wearing his grey overcoat. He called me to come toward him when he pulled a tiny black cocker spaniel out from the right front pocket of his overcoat. You see New Year's Day was my birthday and the puppy was my birthday gift. I remember squealing with delight.

So four years and four months later what could this man have in the box?  It wasn't a dog, of that I was pretty sure. I listened for noise and heard nothing. I walked forward and looked down inside. It was a tiny yellow baby duck and a tiny white bunny rabbit, that's what it was. My mother looked as well. I am sure she had no idea what my dad was doing.

My dad asked me to give them names. That was easy. Back in the 1950s I watched reruns of old movie cartoons. One of my favorites was Popeye. So I naturally called the duck Sweet Pea after the orphan Popeye and Olive Oyl took care of. And naturally the bunny had to be called Bugs. I never knew the sex of either animal but always assumed that Bugs was a boy and that Sweet Pea was a girl.

The following day my dad and I created a little home for Bugs and Sweet Pea in our garage. As I write this I recalled that it snowed that weekend. We couldn't put these tiny little creatures out in the snow.

It was probably the next weekend when I helped my dad construct a coop at the far end of the backyard. We built an enclosure that was maybe four by four by three feet tall - just u a bit under the height of our white picket fence. We used galvanized mesh hexagonal poultry netting (Google found this for me). My dad made a little door so that I could let Bugs and Sweet Pea out for a walk around the yard.

I always found some way to make money. I wrote a blog retelling about my sales skills as a little kid. I also shoveled snow in the winter and did work around old ladies houses in the summer. Old ladies liked me. They still do. Anyway, I got my finances together and walked to the lumberyard  that was located near 38th and Sheridan. I bought a big bag of cement. I put it in my wagon and returned to the backyard where I had previously dug a hole. I mixed the cement and patted it to the form of the hole hoping to create a swimming pond for Sweet Pea. NEWS FLASH! It did not work. It did not hold water. But I tried.

I had to help Sweet Pea be a duck out of water. I regularly gave her a shower with the garden hose. She would flap her wings and sing QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! She loved the garden hose.

In addition to the covered patio we had a rock garden, a vegetable garden, three gooseberry bushes, a cherry tree, an apple tree, and a lot of grass all of which were contained inside our backyard bounded by the house on one side, a neighboring galvanized fence to the north, and our white picket fence on the east and south sides. Sweet Pea was as happy as any orphaned duck could be inside that yard or even in her coop. Bugs was a rascal, however. He escaped through the picket fence one too many times and I never saw him again.

If there was ever any doubt about what I would be when I grew up, any reasonable adult would have figured it out when they would see me and Sweet Pea go for a walk. I wrapped Sweet Pea's body with a remnant of my mother's red apron. I loosely put a piece of string around her neck which became a sort of leash. We would walk around the block. She loved it! She was like a dog looking out the window of a moving car. Taking it all in.

When fall came I realized that really cold weather and snow would soon follow. I knew that my best friend's grandparents owned a farm. I asked him if they would like to take Sweet Pea to live on their farm. They agreed and stopped by my house to pick up my pet duck. I gave them Sweet Pea. I don't recall crying or anything like that. It was best that she go live on a farm with the other farm animals. It was her time, long ago.