1200 Whitehead Street, Key West - Buying Oppotunity!

Just Listed, but not by me, 1200 Whitehead Street, Key West. I saw and photographed this classic eyebrow house yesterday afternoon on one of the few "gray days" we get in the Florida Keys. I apologize for the lack of color.  I also did not use a tripod so the photos are less than perfect.  Half of this home has been renovated and the other half remains to be completed. Use the photos and your imagination to see in your mind's eye what the property could become.

I dug into my old shoebox and found a photo of 1200 Whitehead Street that was taken more than fifty years ago. I took a similar photo yesterday. The architecture of the original house still reigns supreme on this ample 7496 sq ft (74. 58' X 100.5') lot at the corner of Whitehead and Catherine Streets.  Two large Royal Poinciana trees anchor the lot from either side.

Eyebrow houses are particularly unique to Key West. They are two story homes which vary in height, width, and size. These houses get the name "eyebrow" because the second floor windows are sheltered by the front roof eave which extends out over the house and supported by columns or posts.  Before electric fans and later air conditioning, shade and natural air flow cooled homes. The windows of an eyebrow house can be left open during rain storms which allows air to flow to cool the rooms.

The MLS datasheet shows this house was built in 1948. This information is drawn directly from the Monroe County Property Appraiser records which we know are sometimes (often!) misleading or downright incorrect. 1200 Whitehead Street first appeared on the 1892 Sanborn Fire Map. A substantial two story addition was added to the property after 2005. That addition was never completed. Let's take a brief look at the original house.

The original eyebrow house is 1,617 sq ft consisting of living room, two bedrooms with en-suite bath rooms, a bonus room (theater) with adjacent bath outfitted in travertine marble. The original portion is in move-in condition except that there is no complete functioning kitchen.

The addition has 2,242 sq ft of new unfinished space under air. While I am not a contractor nor inspector, I can attest the framing impressive both in size, dimension, and craftsmanship.

I understand the concept behind the addition was to create large living spaces for the owners. The roughed-in second floor master suite is one of the largest I have seen in Key West. The listing agent told me a new owner could remove the wall at the rear of the great room to expand the space. The addition includes a ground level sitting room space plus two story stairway to the master suite. The agent suggested an alternate use might be to add a floor in the two story space which would then allow for the creation of another bedroom and bath. CLICK HERE to view photos of the property.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 1200 Whitehead Street, Key West. 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. This is a lot of house for the money. I do think there are ways to deal with the size of the house to make renovation economical sensible even for Key West.