820 Windsor Lane - Old Town - Key West

Preferred Properties (that's where I work) just listed a charming little house at the corner of Windsor Lane & Poorhouse Lane in the Old Town area of Key West. But you won't be poor if you buy this house located at 820 Windsor Lane which is offered at just $479,000. The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"A sweet conch home in the heart of old town, this property offers historic significance and a great floor plan from which one can make improvements. The guest bedroom and bath are downstairs while the master bedroom and half bath occupy the entire upstairs. Features include high ceilings, Dade co. Pine walls and floors, spacious rooms and an open kitchen with breakfast bar. A private deck and a bricked patio provide more outdoor living. This home has a lot of charm and is a rare find in old town."

In his book The Streets of Key West: a History through Street Names J. Willis Burke says Poorhouse Lane got its name because "a poorhouse was once tucked away there". I found another of those old photos that show how this property looked like in 1965. Poorhouse Lane is denoted by the unpainted vertical fence on the opposite side of the house. See the photo below. Now look at a similar photo I took in December 2010 looking in the same basic direction. With the overgrown trees and cars it is hard telling it is the same place. But it is.

820 Windsor Lane circa 1965 - Poorhouse Lane is denoted by the vertical unpainted fence

820 Windsor Lane as it appears in 2010 hidden behind the foliage

820 Windsor Lane is a two bedroom two bath home that sits on a good sized 40' x 50' lot just across the street from the Key West cemetery. St. Mary's Catholic Church is located two blocks to the south at the corner of Windsor Lane and Truman Avenue. Bill Butler Park is a short one block walk at the west end Poorhouse Lane. I must confess the City of Key West ought to spend more time and more money to maintain this potential gem.


The Historic Key West Seaport is a five or six minute walk to the north. I mention that not because a lot of potential buyers have boats or plan to go on fishing trips or sunset cruises, but because there are many great restaurants there. I love Harpoon Harry's for breakfast and a lot of friends are wild about the Half Shell Raw Bar.

You can walk to Duval Street in about five minutes. The fact is you can be just about any place in Key West within ten minutes by car. You can be most places in Old Town by foot or bike in about the same time. And it is that convenience that makes a location like 820 Windsor Lane so appealing.

I have not been inside this listing yet, so I can't offer any more than provide the mls link (below). But I can report that the house has lots of street appeal. I remember another cottage located a block north on Windsor Lane. For years I would drive by that house and potential buyers would ask questions about that place or tell me "Gary call me if that place ever comes on the market. I will buy it right away." That place eventually got sold (before it even went in the mls as I recall). It was redone, and now it looks absolutely beautiful. That house is shown immediately below. I think 820 Windsor Lane has equal charm which is lurking behind all that foliage.


CLICK HERE to checkout the Key West mls datasheet on 820 Windsor Lane and to view more photos of the inside and exterior.

Better yet please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing of this cute Conch Cottage. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida. Our office is the Exclusive Lower Florida Keys affiliate of Christie's Great Estates.