Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursday No. 8

From: April 7, 2015

1010 - 1012 Olivia Street, Key West -The Beginning of the End

Local folk artist Ronny Bailey stopped by my office last week to show me (and my Dear Readers) his latest work a special commission of the two houses at 1010 and 1012 Olivia Street in Key West.  The owner of these houses wanted to capture the essence of these houses as they now exist because like much of old Key West, they are about to get renovated. I took a lot of photos of Ronny's art which you can see if you CLICK HERE.

If you look carefully you will seethe word "peace" printed on the wood floor in the photo above.  Ronny always includes the words love, peace, and joy in each piece he creates. He is a religious and loving person. This is how he sees life and how he relates to others. You meet this man and you immediately understand his ethos.

Ronny told me he salvaged wood from the actual houses to create these miniatures. The "metal" roofs are actually wood that he has painted to resemble metal. He carved the chickens on the front porch. Ronnie ripped a larger piece of wood to create the "plywood" floors on the front porches. The front door at 1012 Olivia Street has a screen door. Ronny had a piece of wire screen he had saved from another house from years before. He added a coat of paint to it to reduce the size of the screen to fit into the tiny door. It looked amazingly correct.Look closely at the second floor window on 1010 Olivia (three above). There you will see a hole in the window.  These are all little details that make up the story of old house like this. Ronny Bailey's art can be seen at local shows in Key West. He does prints of various pieces for folks that are not prepared to pay the cost of a major installation. No matter what you buy, you will always love it and cherish it for it shows the true beauty of our old homes.

CLICK HERE to see more photos of the two real houses. These will appear in at least one future blog as the renovation of these two iconic cottages take place.  Several years ago the owner of prior owner of the abutting property on Watson  Street told me that 1012 Olivia Street used to be a house of ill repute. He called it something else that's more descriptive.

I checked the historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when these houses were built. This area was entirely omitted in the earliest map which dates back to 1889. I did find both houses on the 1892 map but at that time they were identified as 922 and 924 Olivia Street. The addresses were respectfully changed to 1010 and 1012 Olivia in the 1889 map. The 1889 map showed a vacant lot next to 1012  Olivia. That vacant spot still exists. But the street does not show on that map. It wasn't until the 1912 map that Peerless Court (later named Watson Street) appeared on the map. In fact the street did not exist at all until that time. There were houses interspersed on the extra large block bounded by Frances on the east, Grinnell on the west, Olivia to the north, and Division Street (Truman Avenue) to the south.

I talked with Ronny about the coming renovation of these two old decrepit houses. I guess you can't blame an owner for wanting to fix up an old house and make it look nice - maybe even to sell it. The thing is if we keep fixing all the old houses there won't be any of the character left in our town except the derelicts that sit on Duval Street performing tricks or outright begging for money. This is the beginning of the end.

Update November 5, 2020  Nothing has happened yet. 

The Sarah Addison House - 916 Center Street, Key West

I have written about the wondrous creations of Key West folk artist Ronny Bailey on several occasions over the past few years. His work is so simple and pure that others think they can do the same thing. According to Ronny, several former builders such as himself have told Ronny they tried to create similar properties only to give up in utter frustration over how long and tedious the task.

Ronny is a Conch born and bred in Key West. He was a builder by trade until he hung up his tool belt a few years back. He started to fiddle with some old Dade County Pine and created his first piece. When his wife saw what he had created, she exclaimed "I didn't know you could do that!" He replied "Neither did I."  And so began his new career as an artist as older man - a man who pays homage to his native hometown re-creating miniature visions of the small homes and businesses that make Key West such a treasured place. The Sarah Addison house at 916 Center Street is one of his latest creations.

Ronny Bailey told me he reclaimed Dade County Pine from the restoration currently underway at the former Pilot Houses guest house at 414 Simonton Street. (That property will appear in an upcoming blog.) Ronny cut and stripped the pine into a variety of shapes and sizes which he then used to replicate Sarah's house and all the pieces that make this little place a piece of art. Even the the roof is reclaimed Dade County Pine refashioned into a different form.

Ronny shared a written history of the home researched and retold by Sharon Wells. 916 Center Street was the home of Sarah Addison. Monroe County records show that the lot at 916 Center Street was purchased on July 13, 1874 by Sarah Addison a Florida born black woman "with roots in the Bahamas". She paid $175 for the lot. The 1884 "birds eye view" map of Key West shows a 1 1/2 story house located near Division Street (previously known as Rocky Road and now known as Truman Avenue.) The 1885 tax assessment valued the improved lot at $300. On March 18, 1889 Sarah married Joseph Pain (Payne).  The 1887 Bensel Directory noted Jospeh Payne to be a butcher and  "c" for colored. Payne resided in this house until his death in 1912 at age 51. According to Sharon Wells, Sarah Addison Payne lived at 916 Center Street until her death in 1923. Sarah had six children, worked as a cook, and never remarried.   

Sarah, the black cat, the cocky rooster, the rocker, the tea kettle and the coal stove upon which it sits, the ice box and even the kitchen sink were carved or fashioned out of Dade County Pine. You will quickly note that instead of being all bright and looking freshly painted, this house and the personal property and animals show the wear of time and grime.

Ronny removed the back panel so that I could photograph the interior. Ronny took the time to make the inside as perfect as he did the outside. Note the ripped down version of the Dade County Pine interior walls and the simple interior trim.You can click any photo to make it larger. If you click the photo of the icebox, coal stove, and sink you'll see the words PEACE, LOVE, and JOY on shelve over the sink. These are the watchwords of Ronny Bailey's life. You'll find these words on some part of each piece he creates.

I found a photo of 916 Center Street taken in 1965 which was about 70 years after the house was built. I took a photo of the place this morning. Today the house is but a part of a vacation rental conglomerate that services this part of Old Town. Alas, Rocky Road and the stuff of yore is no more. But thanks to Ronny Bailey the little houses and businesses of our past can live long into our futures.

If your are thinking about buying a home or business in Key West, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

1025 Grinnell Street, Key West

Just Listed, but not by me, 1025 Grinnell Street, Key West, Florida. This property is a legal duplex which is located in the south of Truman area in Old Town.  Look at the photo above and contrast it to the photo below taken fifty years ago which I found in my old shoe box.You will quickly see that the original front porch and side porch were both enclosed and that a cinder block fence added to the yard.

The existing house takes up about 70 percent or so of the lot. The rear 30 percent is big and open. There is plenty of space for a pool. The photo two above shows an existing six foot chain link fence which may not seem like a big deal, but in Key West that provides interesting possibilities if a new owner put a pool in this area because the fence could be replaced with a new wood fence of equal height. Our HARC rules would not allow that, but old fence heights are grandfathered according to my understanding of HARC guidelines. CLICK HERE to see more photos I took on a rainy Key West day.

I checked the historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when this house was built. I couldn't. I did see a big empty lot on the corner with houses on both Grinnell and Virginia streets. There were three cottages (presumably cigar maker cottages) facing Virginia Street on the 1912 map but nothing in the front left corner. The house does stand in a bit of contrast to the two houses to the north.  

The corner lot runs 50' on Grinnell and 109' on Virginia Street. There are three driveways on this property - two on the Grinnell front and one on the Virginia rear side. This works well for the current owner. A new owner might retain the north side gated entry for the future off street parking and take down the others. In my opinion this would give a renovated home a better street facade. By the way the owner of the house located next door is 90 years old. She was born in that house and has lived there her entire life. I assume that home will be available for sale sometime in the future and chances are it will get renovated like all the other old Conch homes have in the past.

 The historic Key West fire station is located on the opposite side of the street. It's a museum now. But for decades it was the place that kept our little town safe from the ravages of fire. My friend and local folk artist Ronny Bailey's homage to the old station is shown above. The old neighborhood is getting gentrified. 1025 Grinnell Street will likely become a part of that gentrification.

The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows this as being a 1239 sq ft home located on a 5425 sq ft lot. The records show the house was built in 1924 which may be correct given the bungalow style architecture. The first photo above shows what was the original screened in front porch. That area is now a part of the living area. You will see Dade County Pine on the walls and ceiling. This space is neatly maintained and could be kept as is and rented out as a one bedroom apartment. The rear unit has multiple rooms including a new kitchen. The rear unit could also be rented as a legal second unit the day after closing. Rental properties in Key West are scarce. This excellent Old Town location would make an easy rental.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 1025 Grinnell Street which is offered for sale at $699,000. Then 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.

Small World of Ronny Bailey - Love, Joy, and Peace in a Box

My friend and local folk artist Ronny Bailey dropped by my office on Monday to show me his latest creation - a kit to create your very own Key West Cigar Maker Cottage "Dream Home".  When I was little kid growing up in the 1950s many paint by numbers kits were sold with color-coded drawings whereby the home artist would paint between the lines to paint blue or whatever the color might be in appropriate spaces.  If you painted inside the lines and used the correct color, you would have your very own original copy of a manufactured piece of art. I did several. I wish I had saved at least one. But like almost everything from my youth, it got tossed.

Ronny's box promises to be more challenging and a lot more art worthy in my opinion.  Ronny describes the kit as:
Artist kit creates artwork 12.5"tall by 11.5" wide.Inside the kit you will find all you need to create your own unique work of art. Includes quality wood pieces, handcrafted window, door, attic vent, and mailbox, glue-no nails or screws required, paint 1 oz. each of white, black, red, blue and yellow, paint pallet and color mixing guide, 3 quality paint brushes,hanging hardware, wax paper to protect your work surface, easy instructions, and tips from the artist.

 Ronny opened the box with pride and gently removed the packing material from the door and window. He explained that local custom cabinet maker Hansen and Bringle fabricated the pieces made of poplar wood. The door and window were custom made using individual pieces of wood, just like the real thing, so that the finished cottage would look authentic.

The home artist gets to complete the cottage using the enclosed paints.  If you are a fan of Ronny's original pieces, you'll quickly see that none of his houses has any of the primary colors contained in the little bag. Come to think of it, most artists start out with similar primary colors to create a universe of totally different pieces of art. However, his completed prototype totally disproves what I just wrote.

Ronny created a prototype.  I wonder what you could create. You can give it a try. CLICK HERE
to see Ronny's Facebook Page where you can learn how to purchase the kit.

And remember to call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com if you want to buy a genuine cigar maker's cottage or any other home in Key West. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.