True Tales of Key West Real Estate in the Times of Covid 19 - Part Eleven

Most of America is breathing a sigh of relief these days. We are getting back to normal after months of quarantine, face masks, social distancing, not touching other people, and so on. I actually shook hands with potential buyers yesterday afternoon. The Key West  real estate market so brisk that there are few properties to write about. Many properties go under contract within a day or two of being listed. which makes blogging nearly impossible. I was looking through my old shoebox searching for subjects to write about when I found a collection of photos I took just before, the day of, and after Hurricane Irma including the one below. The photo shows a woman talking on a telephone with cord on it standing behind a trash can while other people watched her.

I was fortunate to stay at the Marquesa Hotel 414 during the hurricane along with several other locals including some of the hotel employees and and friends of the owners including an electrician. We were without potable water, electricity, and cell phone service for several days after the hurricane. I learned later that the news media incorrectly reported that much of Key West was severely damaged during Irma. We lost trees, but not buildings, and more importantly no lives at that time.

The hurricane lingered over the Island of Key West for several hours. I stood on the balcony for long periods of time. The winds were persistent but not intense - at least from where I was located. I ventured out to the street in early afternoon to survey the damage. I was shocked to see so many trees had fallen. This was not normal. It was devastating. I walked for blocks and blocks taking photos. Locals came out and wandered the streets eyeing the damage. We traded information on what had happened and where the worst damage was. It was like survivors of a zombie attach or something like that.

The next day the sun came out. The sky was cloudless. All the weather got blown to the north. Noting but sunshine, blue sky, and hot temperatures. And no phone service. The electrician who stayed at the hotel climbed the old telephone pole and dropped a phone line to which he attached an old wall mounted princess telephone. Within a couple of days word spread that there was phone service to the world and people showed up seeking a turn to call their loved ones.

I took the above photo during the renovation of the Marquesa 414 property added the location of the drop line for the phone. CLICK HERE to view the before and aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Key West. 

Key West bounced back from the hurricane and recovered from the pandemic. It is a great place to live. If you can find a place to rent or buy.