Key West is as much a state of mind as it is a state of grace. First time visitors either love it or leave it. Many of those who love it dream of moving here someday, perhaps retiring here. Some of the left over hippies and gays who moved here in the 1970's and 1980's and started businesses or invested in real estate have prospered beyond their wildest dreams. Others have achieved personal fulfillment simply by living on this little island out in the middle of the ocean where pace, not race, is the way lives are lived. I'm not sure if the manana attitude is caused by the year around warmth or the realization that just about anything can wait for another day - or thirty.
I first came to Key West in March 1984 and fell in love with the architecture and the potential of this quaint and laid back little town. What once was is no longer. Town has changed. Block by block, house by house, the once seemingly neglected cottages and houses have been restored and made into the best version of themselves. The rusted old Conch Cruisers have been replaced by fancy imports from foreign lands. Small cigar maker cottages that once sold for a $100,000 now sell for around one million dollars.
The Sears School (as photographed circa 1890) was located at the end of Free School Lane. The school was built in 1874 and was Key West's first school. It was torn down in 1909 when it was replaced by the Harris School on Southard Street. Locals and returning visitors will recognize the location as being the former entrance to Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden.
I made my pilgrimage to see the secret garden three decades ago. I was taken by the natural beauty and the sheer size of the garden with specimen palms and other tropical foliage.
I searched the Historic Sanborn Fire Map for 1889 and found the Sears School and what I believe to be the original cottage at 618 Free School Lane. I added notations to the map for readers to view. Free School Lane is not identified by name on the map, but that is the location. What you can see is an immense open space around the red check. That space later became known as Nancy's Secret Garden and now is the beautiful home at
618 Free School Lane, Key West now offered for sale at
$5,497,900.
I must admit I was worried about what might have happened to the once "natural" garden. That concern vanquished as soon as I passed through the gate. The gardens are now very formal and meticulously maintained. Gray stone walkways lead to various points in the garden and the sunken heated pool with swim-up cocktail tables and built-in seating.
The entry sets the tone for the entire residence. The room measures 14 feet long, 14 feet wide, by 14 feet tall. The walls throughout most of the house are crisp white offset by tile floors suggestive of historic Cuba tile patterns with tones of black, to gray, and white. Dramatic light fixtures and medallions can be found in many rooms including the adjacent kitchen and dining room.
Multiple glass panel doors open out to the deck area which really looks down to the sunken pool and which wraps around the house where the master suite wing is located.
This home has three bedrooms, three and one-half bathrooms, an outdoor shower, and pizazz for days. The attention to detail is evident throughout the home. There is too much to explain so I won't bore readers with the details. Instead,
CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos for
618 Free School Lane. Then please call me,
Gary Thomas,
305-766-2642, to arrange a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at
Preferred Properties Key West.
Free School Lane as photographed during Fantasy Fest in 2011. All that Old Town has to offer is located about two hundred feet west of the very private home located at 618 Free School Lane.
