The Nightmare on Eaton Street, Key West

Do you recognize this Key West location? If you are a local or returning visitor to Key West you probably have walked or driven by it many times. The two buildings in the rear are your clue. If you are a Keywester in your late 70s you might be one of the children.

The dark areas of the map show the breadth of the destruction caused by the Great Fire of 1886.

 

I found some photos on the Monroe County Library website which show how the parking lot behind the children came  to be - FIRE. Not the Great Fire of 1886 that destroyed so many homes and buildings but the one that took down the First Baptist Church and torched two homes across Eaton Street. 

 

The ground breaking for the Masonic Temple at 535 Eaton Street in July 1950. Photo by Key West Photo Service.

The Masonic Temple at 535 Eaton Street looked like this before it was taken down to be a hold in the ground to be replaced by concrete block. What a site Eaton Street must have been before man and fire took down such beautiful buildings.

The hurricane of 1944 toppled trees but the beautiful homes and churches on Eaton Street survived.

President Harry Truman and Chief Justice Fred Vinson at the First Baptist Church in Key West C 1950. Jeff Brodhead Collection. You will see the completed building below. Today the building houses The Studios of Key West as well as Judy Blume's bookstore.

A Navy float in a parade passing the Baptist Church at 524 Eaton Street C 1950. Photo by Key West Photo Service.

The photos below show the  former church and the houses on the opposite side of Eaton Street the day after the nightmare on Eaton Street.

The above photo was shot from Bahama Lane looking north toward Eaton Street. The following photos show direct views of BPOE building at corner of Simonton Street and Eaton, 529 Eaton Street (now Carriage Trade Inn), 525 Eaton Street (destroyed home now parking for Simonton Court Guest House), 523 Eaton Street (one of the Simonton Court properties does not appear to show any damage). 

1957 New Church and offices being constructed

The former First Baptist Church was rebuilt using concrete block construction and 1950s architecture. The Scottish Rite Temple looks like pre-World War II design dragged into the post war building boom. Both stand today and would probably defy a fire. They did defy Hurricane Irma in 2017. That is a good thing or bad thing depending on how you feel about mid-century American architecture and concrete block construction. The old wood houses also stand today, about one hundred and fifty years after their construction. The styles and construction materials give us the option to opine in favor of one over the other.

Look backup at the locals surveying the damage to their cultural history. It is no less damaging as when we all watched the fire at Notre Dame. It was personal to them. I may write wise cracks about a lot of things in Key West, but fire is not one of them (even though I did write a wise crack a few lines above). Our little paradise is so vulnerable to fire. It truly is a nightmare. 

 

The November Suprise in Key West Real Estate Sales

On August 24, 2020 I blogged about Key West real estate sales since March when Monroe County authorities blocked US 1 from Key Largo to Key West. At first it almost felt like we were isolated from the rest of the world. Well, I guess we were. Non essential businesses, bars, restaurants, and hotels shut down. We wore our masks. We fared better than the rest of Florida. Buyers returned to Key West soon after the barriers were removed. We were back in the business of selling houses. On that day in August I wrote: 

"A total of 131 single family homes have closed since March 1, 2020 for an average sold price of $1,023,176. Eight of those sales were for homes that sold for an average sold price of $2,907,500. I have been a doubter of the over - two million dollar market for several years. It is real. It does exist and it has flourished in the pandemic."

I did a similar search today with the starting date of August 24th. A total of 69 single family homes have closed since August 24 with an average list price of $1,1003,862 and average sold price of $954,589. These home sales occurred in all parts of town. Thirty per cent (or 21) of those sale were for homes priced over $1,000,000 which had an average list price of $1,705,333 and average sold price of $1,616,785.

I view the 67 day sales results as a surprise given the state of the nation (and world) at this moment. Still, I decided to look back at the same time period in 2019. I found 37 single family home sales in Key West with an average list price of $1,078,554 and an average sales price of $1,035,568. Surprisingly, only 16 single family homes priced over $1,000,000 were among the solds. 

VOTE

Separation Anxiety

The little kid is wee me and the bigger guy is my big brother. The photo was taken on the lawn at the now razed Presbyterian Hospital in Denver in about 1948 or 1949.  My mother worked at the hospital as a switchboard operator back then, but today's blog relates to a different visit there and how it impacted my life forever.

I was about two years old when I was admitted Presbyterian Hospital to test for a heart murmur. Readers may be skeptical of my recollection, but it is real. I have seen it in my mind's eye for decades. It was nighttime. My parents came to visit me. I was held and comforted. Then they started to leave me. I begged them to take me with them.They left me alone.  I cried myself to sleep. I was a prisoner inside an iron crib.

Google is really something. Put in a word or phrase and you get to see things from your present or your past. The above photo shows a hospital crib like the one where I was held - except I was much smaller than the boy shown in the photo. I was trapped inside that iron crib. I could not escape. I was too young to reason.

In later years I was told I was in the hospital for testing.  I don't think I was there very many days. But it was an eternity to tiny me. While I do not have nightmares over the incident, I remember it to this day and feel again the sense of abandonment that the experience left me with. 

A few weeks ago I saw a Senator, or Congressman, or someone from the Trump Administration was on television discussing the "immigrant children" who have been separated from their parents who are being held in detention facilities. The man said something to the effect that these kids are better off than many American children because these kids have three meals a day and are in clean facilities.  He seemed to express a disdain for the children because they were being treated better than American children. Maybe they are, but I think not. I can never imagine a tiny child feeling good about being separated from his mother. And as big and tough as a 14 year old boy can be and as sassy at a 14 year old girl might be, I am confident many revert to children when their world is ripped apart no matter the cause. The press is now referring to some of these children as "orphans".  I bet that will happen to some. 

Who knows how these immigrant children who have been separated from their families by the American Government will feel about and maybe act toward or against the United States in the years ahead. Whatever they may feel or do, I am sure they won't forget it.

The "Cobbled Together" One-Time Key West Compound of Nancy Friday

I recently received an email from a friend who used to live near Nancy Friday's house in Key West. The email included a link to a Wall Street Journal piece entitled Author Nancy Friday's "Central Park West Compound Asks $22.5 Million". CLICK HERE to read the piece. The first line reads: "Over two decades, author Nancy Friday cobbled together an unusual compound of three adjacent apartments atop a New York City apartment building that overlooks Central Park".

I read the article and responded to my friend telling him that is exactly what Nancy Friday did in Key West three decades ago when she bought one, then two. and finally three houses located next to each other between Southard Street and Pinder Lane. She purchased 6 Pinder Lane pictured above from from Duane Dick and his partner Richard Thixton.** She also purchased 815 Southard and 821 Southard Street.

After Nancy Friday left Key West all three properties were purchased by a single party.   A few years later I was selected to list 6 Pinder Lane. The new property owner retained and renovated 815 Southard Street, below.

 821 Southard Street, which Nancy Friday used as her guest house, was purchased by my buyer who  renovated the interior and enhanced the garden. He found a couple of Nancy's personal items left in the attic.  Both houses sit pretty on one of the best streets in Key West, but Nancy Friday's secret garden and house is still hidden away from public view. 

Nancy Friday renovated the 6 Pinder Lane house with the architectural assistance of local architect Tom Pope. This was Nancy's Key West home. The original cottage was expanded at the rear.  A second floor was added to create the master bedroom and tree-top bath. Multiple sets of French doors were added on the main level which opened out to the magnificent deck. I showed this house many times over the years, both when Nancy still owned the property, and later. I would sit in the living room with French doors opened and let the buyers walk about taking in the simplicity and charm of this place. The French doors were always been open matter who was living there at the time. The shade of the trees and porch cooled the house and warmed the spirit.

This was no ordinary "quintessential" Key West home. Nor was the lot an ordinary lot. No, not by a long shot. Pinder Lane is one of those slow lanes in Key West of which I am so fond of. The lane is perhaps 200 feet long where it abruptly ends. It runs perpendicular to William Street midway between Southard Street to the south and Fleming Street to the north. 6 Pinder Lane is tucked in a corner behind the house at the very end of the lane. When Nancy owned the property a bricked path meandered thru some palm trees to a tall gate where what looked like an ancient cow bell once hung. You needed to pull the clanger to announce your presence at the gate. Guests needed to lift the wrought iron lever, push the gate forward, and walk into Nancy's the secret garden known as 6 Pinder Lane. It was magical!

The master bedroom was like a Hollywood movie set. Nancy created the perfect little love nest up in the sky. The wood walls and floor were painted white. Three sets of windows looked out to the towering trees and gardens below. The space was ever so comfy! You just wanted to curl up and read a book, take a nap, or have a little afternoon romance. When I wrote about this house when I listed it, I begged that "whoever buys this house please don't mess with this! The bathroom is one-of-a-kind. The white porcelain bath fixtures standout against the dark green tiles. When you stand in the shower you can see smidgens of the tin roof on a neighboring house, but mostly you see the tree tops and patches of blue sky." 

The new owners of Nancy Friday's house followed their dreams rather than mine and did a stylish update to the house and  garden. The tall gate and cowbell are gone. I have seen photos of the house which pay respect to what once was. It is still very special.

In the last three decades of the twentieth century Nancy Friday and her friends purchased simple houses in Key West to which they made modest improvements and created a community that inspired a generation of dreamers who want to move to Key West. While Nancy Friday's Key West cobbled together compound has been separated, but three new owners get to live out their dreams in one of Nancy's homes..

**  I wrote about 4 Pinder Lane a couple of times over the years. Mary Thixton told me stories about the celebrities who frequented her uncle's home including Cary Grant, Anne Jackson,Tallulah Bankhead, Burt Reynolds and local members of the Key West literary community including James Leo Herlihy (author of Midnight Cowboy) and, of course, Nancy Friday.

917 Hibiscus Lane, Key West - Living Life in the Slow Lane

This particular week is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Key West. Thousands of families, college kids, and single adults are here seeking fun during Easter Week. The are moving about en-mass up and down Duval Street and nearly every other street in town. Getting anywhere by car is a chore and walking on Duval Street is nearly impossible especially if you get behind a fat family of which there are many. There are some exceptions where there is no traffic this week, nor any other week. These are what I like to call the slow lanes of Key West.

Some of the lanes are so small or hidden that you may need a map to find the houses located there. Such is the case of 917 Hibiscus Lane, also known as Billygoat Lane.  Tell your UBER driver to take you to 917 Billygoat Lane and he'll look at you like you have had one too many.  But if you go to the Monroe County Property Appraiser website and search the address, you will see the land officially identified as "Billygoat Ln".  By either name, the lane runs parallel to Fleming Street which is located about 150 feet to the north. Today there are only three individual homes on this street. Two other houses located on Grinnell Street border this lane. Other original cottage size houses have been incorporated into large homes on Fleming Street which gives those larger homes off street parking and a guest cottage. Hibiscus dead-ends at a massive estate which also includes two homes located on Margaret Street. The end result is life on this little lane is very tranquil even during a week like this week.

The listing Realtor describes 917 Hibiscus Lane this way:

"This contemporary style home is perfection. Located on a quiet and secluded lane in the heart of Old Town this architectural gem is an ideal primary residence or second home getaway. Enter the front door to a great room with a soaring ceiling and an open concept floor plan perfect for entertaining. The large living / dining / kitchen is flooded with light from lots of windows. The master bedroom at the rear of the home has an ensuite bath and multiple closets. The guest bedroom has an ensuite half bath with laundry. Sliding glass doors open from the living area and both bedrooms to the picture perfect garden with outdoor dining, pool with water feature, adorable garden cottage, garden shed and private outdoor shower. The oh-so-charming garden cottage is the perfect spot for hanging out."

This charming home looks and feels especially large. The vaulted ceiling runs the length of the house. Multiple sets of glass panel doors and windows bathe the interiors with daylight. A large collapsing wall in the master suite opens the space into the main living area which I believe will be primarily used by the owners and occasionally shared with a guest. That is the way most homes like this are used.

The second bedroom, or guest bedroom and private bath, are located at the front of the house. There is a small guest cottage located at the back of the property. This is where you ask your brother in law to stay. There is an outdoor shower which everyone will fall in love with. The pool and waterfall are another unexpected delight.  I was envious of the grass and had to feel it to see if it was real. It's real pretty, but not natural.

The house is located within a three minute walk to Azur, Old Town Bakery, Mangia Mangia, and Michael's.  The Historic Seaport is two blocks north and Duval Street is four blocks west. People save all year and spend thousands of dollars to come to Key West. You could be here living the life of your dreams.


CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 917 Hibiscus Lane, Key West, offered at $1,395,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.