The listing Realtor of 2 Fletchers Lane in Key West describes this hidden gem thus:
"Wonderful 2 story Old Town
home with beautiful Brazilian cherry floors, custom kitchen cabinets
& Dade County pine walls. Obviously built by a ship builder, you
can feel the custom woodwork quality throughout. Each bedroom enjoys
lots of privacy with a split floor plan plus a guest cottage. Totaling 3
bedrooms & 3.5 baths with a great room that opens completely to the
outdoors. Tropical landscaping and new Trex decking surround the
heated pool & spa. The third bedroom cottage can double as guest
quarters or a bar entertaining area with accordion style windows that
open it up completely. Fully fenced for privacy & located between
Grinnell & Margaret Streets, you can walk to everything from this
unique property."
The
good thing about owning a house on a lane that hardly anybody even
knows that it exists is that you probably will not have many drop in
guests, Fuller Brush salesmen, or other ne'er do-wells knocking on your
door. You probably won't be serenaded as the bars close when locals and
tourists find their way back to their homes, apartments, guest houses or
hotels. You'll miss out on lines like "Babe I love you!" or "I hate
you! Get out of my life!".
2 Fletchers Lane in Key West is hidden away on
just such a little lane that few people even know exists. If you have a
big ego and want everyone to see your big house and talk about how much
money or whatever that you may have, this is not the place for you.
However, if you want a slice of Old Key West that has been updated and
tweaked just ever so nicely, this may be the place you have been looking
for.
As frequent readers know the Key West mls is
auto-filled with data that comes from the Monroe County Property
Appraiser database. Unfortunately, the historic property records were
destroyed in the great fire many years ago. Members of the WPA recreated
(with an emphasis on the word
create) those records but made guesses as to when many of our old homes were
built - including the home at 2 Fletchers Lane which the official record says was
built in 1924. I looked at the Sanborn Fire Maps for Key West and found
what I believe to be this property which I have marked with an "X" on
the map below. That map was made in 1890 which tells us the house and
rear cottage existed prior to 1899. You will note that the house appears
to be placed on an angle. That was not uncommon in olden days. Some houses were not placed at perfect right angles to the lot or the lot. Some
houses are still sit like that. This house has been re situated so that it
now sits parallel with the lane.
I
dug into the old shoebox and found a photo of 2 Fletchers Lane taken
back in 1965. Compare that with the photo which I recently took..
The
black and white photo shows 'scuttles' located on the roof. Scuttles are vents used in historic construction that allowed warm air to vent out through the roof.. The first house I sold in Key
West was built around 1824. It had scuttles. I will never forget that
house because of its simple but beautiful construction. Note also that the
front porch still functions as such, but the main entrance has been
relocated just past the gated side entrance which is barely visible in
the above photo.
The
main living area is located at the rear of the home. The kitchen, dining, and
living areas form one great room which has sets of French doors on two
sides that provide ample daytime light that is filtered by the palms and
tropical foliage on this and nearby properties. The Brazilian cherry floors, the extensive wood trim, and the custom cabinets in the kitchen make the main floor living
space extra cozy and comfortable.
The
ceiling in the living room soars two stories high. Your guests will be amazed
to see a second floor glass walkway that extends from the bedroom area to second floor rear balcony that looks out to the pool and guest cottage below. This is an ingenious
mix of old school charm with contemporary design. I seriously doubt
that our current HARC would ever permit something so ingenious to be built
today.
There
are two bedrooms on the second floor. The master suite is located at
the rear of the house. The space is evenly divided between sleeping
area, sitting area, dressing room, bath and that incredible glass walkway and rear balcony.
What
must have been the original living room in the olden days is now used
as an office. The space reminds me of an old house that has been treated
with care for generations. The second bedroom is accessed from a
stairway from the office area.
The
front porch is still a fine place for sitting and watching - pretty
much of nothing. Only a couple of other homes share this tiny little
lane. There is no off street parking here. You can drive your car up the
lane to unload groceries and things. But you will need to park on
nearby Eaton or Grinnell Street. The listing Realtor tells me the owners
have parked in the same spot on Eaton Street for as long as they have
owned this house.
I don't know if the guest cottage is the same cottage shown on the
old Sanborn map or if it was built new. But I know its current configuration is pure genius. I
have never seen any structure like this in Key West. You enter the
cottage by stepping down a step from the pool deck level into this exquisite space. The cottage almost feels like a cabin in the
woods except it is located in Key West, Florida! Windows on two
sides open out from the bar to the pool where you and your guests
can lounge in luxury. Please
CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this home that is offered for sale at
$1,123,000.
CLICK HERE to view more photos which I took of this really charming Key West property. But better than that, please call me,
Gary Thomas,
305-766-2642
to schedule a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at
Preferred Properties Key West. This is a truly incredible home. Don't
miss this.
