1120 Curry Lane - Key West - Home Buy Christmas

I will bet you that a lot of potential house buyers who have been scouring the Key West Association of Realtors mls website have seen the listing at 1120 Curry Lane and have no idea where it is.  If you do a Google Search and see an aerial view you will quickly learn that it is located on a one-way lane that runs parallel between Fleming Street to the north and Southard Street to the south.  You enter from White Street - about 100 feet to east and exit at Frances Street at the west. Curry Lane truly is one of the slow lanes of Key West because so few people know where it is or have any reason to go there other than to go home.  That means is it quite. Some may think it is too far from Duval Street. Nay, I say. I think a normal person could walk to Duval in 8 to 10 minutes or be at the historic seaport in 7 minutes or so.  (There are normal people in Key West - sometimes it may not look like it, but there really are some.)

If you have been reading my blog in recent months I have taken to exploring the old Sanborn Fire Maps of Key West to determine the approximate date when an old house I write about was built. Most of our public records were destroyed in the great fire. Workers from the WPA during the Great Depression created new records but affixed an imprecise date during or near the Depression as to the date when a particular house was built. We all know government work sometimes is nonsensical.  The government says 1120 Curry Lane was built in 1930.  The house did not exist in the 1889 Sanborn Map but it was there in 1899. So the house was built during that time. See a photo of the house as it appeared nearly fifty years ago and compare it with a recent photo.

The white picket fence is gone as is the standard white on white paint job. But the main house is pretty much the same today on the outside as it probably was when built. The interiors, however, are different by a long shot and today there is a two story guest cottage and pool spa at the rear..Most of the interiors appear to have been updated in the past 15 to 20 years.  Please take a look at the photos below and image how you might give this old house a new look. Maybe you will agree with me that 1120 Curry Lane has some hidden potential.

The kitchen is probably going to be the space where most folks will socialize. The space is quite large and offers views of the rear deck and spa. The poo, however, is located behind the guest cottage to the rear.

There are two quite large bedrooms on the second floor. Each has direct access to a Jack and Jill bath.  If I owned this house I would use the front bedroom with loft as the master suite because it has a really nice second floor front porch to sit and watch pretty much nothing.  However, if you have little kids they would probably be pestering you all the time to use the loft area as a fort. I might even go up there myself and pretend.  Other than Fantasy Fest, do you ever pretend?  Ah, the things we forget how to do when we grow up.

The two story guest cottage is plenty fine as is, but I would love to see what a couple of gay decorators could do to this place. And I don't think it would take too much money to transform this place into something sensational.  This is the money space if you have any intentions of renting the property as a vacation rental because the pool with the magnificent canopy is right out the back door.

I took more photos which you can see if you CLICK HERE. Please take a look. You will see different views of the rooms and spaces.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet on this home which is offered at $1,200,000. The house has 1720 sq ft of living space in the two buildings. The lot is 36' x 102' or 3799 sq ft.

If you would like to see 1120 Curry Lane or any other house in Key West, please contact 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. If you buy this property, you will have a home in Paradise by Christmas next year. The logo photo below was taken last year at 1112 Curry Lane.  This is a wonderful little lane in Old Town Key West.

809 Eaton Street - Key West - Henry Lowe House

809 Eaton Street in Old Town Key West dates back to circa 1840 when it was built for Henry Lowe. The house was totally restored and expanded in 2005 when it was featured in the Old Island Foundation House Tour.  The house is typical of other Bahamian styled homes of that era located in the immediate neighborhood.

Many of the Key West's founding fathers were expatriates from the Bahamas. They brought with them the architectural style and construction techniques with which they were familiar.  Bahamian styled houses were placed on piers and had wood frames and had tall ceilings and large windows with Bahama shutters which permitted air to circulate through the house to provide natural cooling. The houses were built with wood clapboard siding.

I dug deep into the old shoebox and found a photo of the roof of 809 Eaton Street (black and white photo immediately below) that was taken in 1914.  I just love the look of Key West back in the day. You can see that the Historic Seaport is only a couple of blocks away. Note all of the smaller buildings which back then were cook houses or privies.  I found another photo of 809 Eaton Street that was taken in 1965 (black and white photo second below). The house would have been about 125 years old when that pic was taken. Forty-eight years later 809 Eaton Street still looks great (color photo below taken February 2013).

 

Recently I found a photo of 809 Eaton Street that was taken in the 1960's from the Island City House located across the street. That pic reminded me of Freddy in the Nightmare on Elm Street. I took a photo from the same location a few days ago just to prove a point that what was once is often still the same on our little island where historic homes are preserved - not destroyed.

The listing Realtor at Preferred Properties, that's where I work but this is not my listing, describes 809 Eaton Street this way:

"Classic 1800's Old Town property which is a combination of the Henry Lowe House and the Samuel Kemp House, built in 1840. This 5 bedroom / 4.5 bath 3 story home with 1 bedroom / 1 bathroom guest cottage has all the amenities you're looking for! This historic home offers a spacious living area with large open kitchen which is great for entertaining. Additional features include large porches throughout, high ceilings, Dade County Pine, hardwood flooring, large covered deck, fantastic pool and jacuzzi and off-street parking. Converted cistern as wine cellar. There is also a 60,000 watt generator so you're never in the dark. On the National Registry of Historic Places."

 This house has 4712 sq ft of living space in the main house and guest cottage. The lot is an irregular rectangle of of 6079 sq ft (approximately 57' x 125'). The main level includes a spacious living room, dining room, family room and extra large kitchen and pantry. The master bedroom with en-suite bath is also located on the main floor at the left rear of the home.  Multiple sets of French doors line the back of the house and open onto a rear loggia that overlooks the pool.

A gracious staircase leads to the second floor where there are two large bedrooms and baths. These bedrooms open onto the wrap-around second floor porch. A smaller staircase leads to the third floor which has a dormitory style bedroom plus a wonderful bath at the rear which as a view looking toward the Gulf of Mexico. You can see the pool, guest cottage, and garden.This is the kind of view that  people who accomplished great things get to enjoy.

The interior finishes and materials are all of the highest quality. While the house is rich in history and the house itself has several formal living spaces, most of the living areas on the inside and outside are quite relaxed. The combined family room and kitchen provide area for family and friends to enjoy this incredible home.

It is the outdoor living area that will probably entice that special buyer to select this home. The covered rear deck overlooks the lengthy pool and spa which is surrounded by bricked walkways and sunning areas. The guest cottage on the west side was built as part of the 2005 restoration and expansion. The cottage has a separate designer kitchen and bath plus bedroom each of which looks out to the pool. (Your guests will never leave.)    

The property has two off street parking spots: one adjacent to the front entrance and a second at the rear.  The whole house generator will provide electricity to keep you comfortable and cozy in the event of power failure elsewhere on the island. CLICK HERE to view more photos of this incredible Key West property.

This is a very large house with an extra large guest cottage. You can see it has a great outdoor entertaining area with an extra large sunny pool. The property is located two blocks south of the Historic Key West Seaport and only four blocks from Duval Street. This place would make an incredible vacation rental.

Nearby Key West Seafood Market

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos of this special Key West home which is offered at $2,699,000. If you area qualified buyer and would like to see this special home, 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.

1510 Patricia Street - Key West Mid-Century Home

 

 

 If you were a youngster in 1954, you may recall that Disneyland (the TV show), Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, and The Tonight Show debuted.  Movies released that year include White Christmas, Rear Window, On the Waterfront, and Dial M for Murder. Lord of the Flies, Horton Hears a Who, and The Lord of the Rings were published in 1954. Life back then was much simpler than it is today.  Most families had one TV set, a family car, a telephone with a rotary dial, and house with a single bathroom shared by all family members.

The home at 1510 Patricia Street in Key West was built in 1954. It is a 1278 sq ft ranch style home located on a 5547 sq ft lot with three bedrooms, one bath, an updated kitchen, and a combined living room and dining area with doors that open out to a Florida room with jalousie windows. There's even covered parking. All of the floors are original Cuban tiles and all are in great condition. The house has been well maintained for generations. The yard has lots of green grass and a couple of palms in front.  The view from the front looking across the street is great. The back yard has more grass, some  palms, and a large cottage.  There is more than enough room for a good sized pool.

I wish my dad had created those turquoise tiles. They can be found in bathrooms across North America.

I think the cottage would make a wonderful pool house, artist's studio, or writer's cottage.  The back yard has lots of potential. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this home which is offered at $479,900. This is an Estate Owned Property.

CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this home. But better than looking at photos, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this listing. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.