Last week I blogged about a new listing on Chapman Lane. I mentioned the laundry hanging from the front porch. That would be an oddity in most places in Key West today, but it was common place half a century ago. I decided to rummage through my old shoebox to see if I could find similar photos. I did.
Undisclosed Key West location. Taken in 1962. 
1209 Packer Street in 1965.
This same property sold in 2017 for $1,2000,000.
801 Virginia Street in 1965. No recorded sales.
1009 Windsor Lane in 1965.
1009Windsor is currently listed for sale for $3,477,000.
1202 Royal Street in 1965. Rear unit. Probably front porch.Sols in 2021 for $1,100,000.
1115 Margaret Street in 1965. Sold in 1995 for $199,000.
1207 William Street rear unit. Also photographed in 1965.
1207 Willliam Street is part of a small condominium complex of historic cottages. One unit recently sold for $625,000.
The house at 731 United Street actually had a clothesline in the front yard in 1965. The house is still there and has a Conch paved front yard. No annoying grass or shrubs to attend to.
724 Caroline Street in 1965. Renovated and transferred by private sales.
This laundry is in the side yard at 1117 Flemig Street as photographed in 1965. The house is till there today. This property was recently offered for sale for $1,250,000. It is still a fixer. nd it is located next door to a resort property.
This is a test. Do you recognize this location? It is 535 William Street. The wrap-around awning no longer exists and the first floor plumbing store is now apartments. The doors have been replaced by windows.
628 Catherine Street also in 1965 This property was razed. The land is now part of First State Bank.
You probably walked past this house at 624 Whitehead Street on your way to visit The Hemingway House This property is now professional offices. It is located near the Monroe County Courthouse.
1102 Duval Street in 1965. Today it is the Grand Vin - fancy wine store.
This is one of several small cottages at 720 Elizabeth Street. A one bedroom cottage sold in 2020 for $565,000.
910 Elizabeth Street in 1965. 910 Elizabeth Street sold in 2021 for $2,470,000.
644 William Street also in 1965. This place looks about the same today.
724 Ashe Street as photographed in 1965.This house was renovated and sold in 2004 for $1,245,000. Then it became a short sale. The lucky new owner only paid $690,000. It is probably worth $1,300,000 or more today. He was my buyer. I had to talk into buying it. He thought I was tricking him. He was from New Jersey. Not everyone is crooked.
This is 1101 Simonton Street as photographed in 1965.The first floor retail space is now office space - very expensive office space.
God made many great things on Earth and man made drop-off laundries in Key West. There is no more need to air your clean clothes in public. I started to write today's blog on Sunday morning. I spent too much time looking thru all the old photos and missed attending an open house to see a new listing from Saturday. It went under contract last night. I should have known better. No more dawdling.
2 comments:
I own two adjoining rent houses in Texas. One was my childhood home. It was originally built by my grandfather, the other built at the same time by my great grandfather. They did most of the work with their own hands. When I was growing up, there was a clothesline in the yard between the two homes, supported by a pair of T-Posts. I remember helping my great grandmother hang laundry on that line many times, from my preschool days all the way through college. Somewhere along the way, the clothesline and one of the T-Posts disappeared. The other post remains, rusty and rough, and partially obscured by a bougainvillea. I am 52 years old. If I live to be a hundred and ten (I won't), I'll never remove that post. I like the whispers and shadows that tell us of what once was.
Joseph, Memories.
We had a clothesline in the backyard when I was a kid. I remember this:
1. Hanging clothes with clothespins. Intrigued by those as a little boy.
2. The smell of sheets in the summer.
3. Bringing clothes inside in the winter where they and I had to thaw out.
4. Tieing my does leash to the line so he could run but leave the yard.
5. Learning to do chin-ups.
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