616 Eaton Street - A Key West Landmark - SOLD

 

Just about every first time tourist and surely every Key West "Wannabe" has walked or rode by 616 Eaton Street and admired the old house. Some may have stopped and taken a photo or two. Others may have mused about buying the old place and imagined what they could do to transform it - maybe to transform and then flip it. I am here to report that 616 Eaton Street sold earlier this week for the price of $1,700,000. Frank Kerwin of Preferred Properties represented the buyer. Congratulations, Frank!

Some passersby would view the old house as needing paint and probably a new roof as the old metal roof looked rusty and decrepit. I personally found the roof to be one of the better features of the house. The place sometimes had the look of being eerie and other times just in need of some paint and a lot of TLC.  The first time I showed the house I was surprised to see how plain the inside of the house actually was.  I had imagined the house would have had large, grand rooms, tall ceilings, ornate crown moldings and ornate fixtures. Instead, the home is pretty Plane Jane. There is no interior stairway. Nor is there much of anything one would classify as ornate. But that did not bother me. I took it as a blessing, of sorts. Because it presented a great opportunity for a new owner to create a new addition to the rear where all of the the modern living conveniences could be added to a new area behind the existing front.

 The rusty roof viewed from 618 Eaton Street

Rear of 616 Eaton Street - not much to see

Same 'view' about 60 feet further to the south

The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows the house as having 2427 sq ft of living space, a great deal of which is in a rear additon not visible from the street. The Appraiser shows the lot as having 21,581 sq ft which by Key West standards is immense.The lot runs about 258 feet from Eaton Street south towards Fleming Street. The Ambrosia Guesthouse on Fleming abuts the rear of the 616 Eaton Street parcel.

It will be interesting to watch and see what now happens to this historic house. The photo immediately below shows 616 Eaton Street as it appeared nearly half a century ago. CLICK HERE to view more photos of this one of a kind property.

Today it looks like this...

I am sure it will be beautifully restored and will take its place with the other grand old dames that make Key West a special place in the hearts and minds of most people who come here for a visit and those who are lucky enough to live here.

If you are thinking of buying a place in Key West please consider working with me, Gary Thomas. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. Let me help you fulfill your dream of finding a place in Paradise.