312 William Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed the William Kemp House at 312 Fleming Street, Key West. This home is located near the foot of the William Street which was and still is the principal harbor in Key West. I found a photo of William Street taken in 1895 that shows a smaller one story house in the location where 312 William Street sits today. I took the color photo a couple of the same location two days ago. The seaport has always been a center of commerce in Key West. In former days the commerce was shipping and sponging. Today the seaport is home to fishing and sailing trips, restaurants, bars, and other tourist related enterprises.

William Kemp brought the sponging business to Key West which eventually became a vital part of the economy. The house at 312 William Street is named after him. The house was awarded a Ceramic Star for historic preservation. And rightfully so. Look below.

The top image shows that 310 (right) and 312 William Street (left) were bridged together on the second floor in 1965.  The 1970s photo shows the bridge and first floor porch enclosure were removed.The house also appears to have been elevated since the 1970s photo. It sits at the same location but it definitely has two or three steps to the front porch.

I searched the historic Sanborn Fire map for 1889 only to learn that none of the houses on the 300 block of William Street appeared on the map. The entire block was omitted.  It was not until the 1892 map that 312 William appeared where the building used as was noted as "Cobbler". There was a much smaller house located directly at the front of the property. The Red Doors, a house of ill repute, was located at the corner of Caroline Street across the street from the seaport.

The Ceramic Star can be seen the left of the blue shutters that adorned so many of the older homes. They provided privacy for the occupants while still allowing air to flow through the homes. Air flow through window, doors, and scuttles was the way homes were ventilated before the advent of electric ceiling fans and air conditioning.

The lot measures 23.38' by 96.7' - there's a bit of jog so it is not a perfect rectangle. The house offers 1,375 square feet of living space on two floors including a small guest cottage at the rear. There are a total of three bedrooms and three baths (guest bath on first floor) plus a pool. The interiors have all been updated with recessed lights, crown molding, air conditioning, and so on. Cobblers and spongers never lived like this.

The black mesh fencing around the pool can be removed. It is meant to provide safety for small children. The cottage at the rear includes a bath. Furnishings in the home are negotiable. Not sure about the fish. Not sure I would want them either.

I used to own one of the earlier houses built in Key West. The staircases were handmade by craftsmen. They remain a sweet architectural element of the past you just do not see in modern buildings. It's little details like this that continue to make the old homes of Key West special and different form old homes in other parts of the country.

The second floor front bedroom has access to the second floor front porch. French doors in the back bedroom open to a balcony that overlooks the pool and cottage below. The ceilings in both bedrooms are vaulted to give the rooms a more spacious feel. The windows and doors introduce wonderful daytime lighting. The shutters provide privacy all day.

312 William Street is located about 150 feet from the newly revitalized Caroline Street Corridor and all of Key West including the once notorious Red Doors.

The Red Doors - 1975

 The Red Doors - 1980

The City of Key West renovated and upgraded the Historic Seaport shortly after I moved to Key West at the end of 1993. A new boardwalk was added that eventually will wrap all the way to near Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and Beach. Tourist related businesses in the area flourished. All of the homes near the waterfront benefited from the revitalization. Two years ago the city completed a separate revitalization of the Caroline Street Corridor. The area is abuzz with activity during the daytime but returns to quite by late afternoon - that's the time tourists head back their inns and hotels to get ready for their adventures later in the day.

Sponging Docks in 1902

 CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and more photos of 312 William Street, Key West offered for sale at $1,495,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this home. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West (listing broker of this home).

5 Hunts Lane, Key West - Hidden Treasure in Old Town

The 2008 real estate market turn down in Key West was preceded by several years of spirited real estate consumption - especially in the Old Town Area. That is because this area most returning visitors know and believe this is where they should make a purchase. Houses occupied by locals known as "Conchs" sat untouched for decades.  Houses located on desirable streets with larger yards with off street parking and room for a pool were gobbled up. As number of larger properties diminished, buyers looked to nearby areas while others looked at smaller lots - some of which were located on dead end lanes or even walking lanes. Such was the case of 5 Hunts Lane which was listed in 2008 for $409,000 and eventually sold for only $335,000. That house had been owned by the same family since it was built.  That house was boarded up when I showed it in 2008. I really remember showing it. I told my potential buyers the same thing I tell nearly every person who looks at a "fixer" and that is to consider it as a "box". I loved that lane and saw great promise in the well built but austere house.

5 Hunts Lane  -  2020

 I saw 5 Hunts Lane yesterday (twelve years later) during Realtor Caravan and quickly asked the listing Realtor if I could blog about. He eagerly agreed. I stepped inside and was immediately awed by what I saw. This is real awe folks. I don't make this stuff up.

Compare and contrast the photo from 1965, the grainy 2008 MLS photo, and the current color photos from the present MLS listing. The 1965 photos show us that this was a single family home where the owner expanded the attic space into living area. Note the metal louver windows on the second floor and the steel poles supporting the new second floor. The color photos show the not only porch was replaced but also that new concrete piers were added under the house. Boarded window openings were replaced with new windows and doors throughout the house. Brick pavers replaced the barren side yard that leads to a new wrap-around rear deck.

I walked around the inside of the first floor admiring the creativity in the use of space. The house was thoroughly renovated in 2010 from piers to roof. All new electric, plumbing, HVAC, and so on.  The upper kitchen cabinets incorporate glass from the original home. Dada County Pine walls were sanded to original condition. We are all familiar with kitchen islands. This island has a half ellipse at one end creating a softer entrance into the living area. A soffit was added to hide the air conditioning duct work and member boards were added or exposed to support the weight of the second floor. It is, however, the introduction of multiple glass panel doors and new windows that changed to once dark box into a very inviting living area. This home is a treasure.

HARC probably would not allow a covered wood porch but a removable awning is perfectably acceptable and equally useful way to provide shade from the sun and protection from the rain. The area was wrapped with an extra few inches of fencing to create totally private and still inviting outdoor living area.

I actually remember the pesky stairs that stuck out into the living area when I showed the box in 2008. Remember the second floor was renovated by the original owners to add more living space. The stairway landing had to be moved inside the second floor to provide head space. So the downstairs portion of the staircase had to stand out from the wall which decreased downstairs living area. The room at the top had a steel pole or two supporting the roof. Conch creativity at its "best". Maybe not so much.

Today there is an actual second floor landing which leads to the master bedroom with en-suite and a guest bed and bath at the rear which is pictured immediately above. This is a good place for errant husbands and brothers-in law to sleep. There are abundant guest houses and hotels within easy walking distance for guests who want to stay with you.

I can't help but admire the solid geometry of the space. These owners designed this. Fogarty Builders built it. Kudos to both. Very Well Done!

5 Hunts Lane is located near the end of narrow walking lane. There is one house located to the north and another opposite. Five Brothers Grocery is located up on the corner of Grinnell and Southard Streets. You will always find a cop there having coffee. Meantime there is a major traffic jam four blocks west starting at Simonton to beyond Whitehead. The Manger of Some City Agency decided to rip up sidewalks on Simonton during peak tourist time and blow out sewers on Duval Street to drive tourists to the beaches instead of the restaurants and stores. It all makes living life on one of the slow lanes of Key West all that more appealing.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 5 Hunts Lane Key West offered for sale at $969,000. 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.

Chris Matthews. A View

I awoke this morning to the very sad news that Chris Matthews had "retired" from MSNBC after several weeks of calls for his firing by women who were offended by his comments and conduct.

I think this who Me Too movement has gotten way out of hand.  Current culture has evolved into litmus tests for political and social purity.  What one said or did in the past (forty years ago or forty hours ago) can ruin a lifetime of good deeds.

Let me share with you a little story in which I was a perpetrator and a victim. All on the same night.

The year was 1975 or 1976.  I as a young attorney in an office in Arvada, Colorado. The senior partner was the president of our county bar association. Back then there were but a handful of women lawyers and none were invited to the male only annual spring fling in Georgetown, Colorado. We caught a chartered school bus which drove us to a restaurant in Georgetown. There was a keg on the bus to get us to liquored up during the 45 minute drive.

We had several cocktails in the saloon before dinner and wine during dinner. We then went to the basement bar for entertainment by dancing girls. And more liquor. As I recall there were three black females who did individual dance sets while moving about the room sitting on male laps, touching the necks and other body parts in a very suggestive manner.

I heard several call outs from several men including a judge I had clerked for to "Get Gary!" to which I responded by moving across the room. The last dancer actually caught me and started in on me. I responded by grabbing her, kissing her, picking her up and kissing her breasts. She stuck her hands in my pants and grabbed me. The room full of attorneys roared with laughter and applause including my boss.

On the way back to Denver a Deputy District Attorney sat next to me on the school bus. His left hand touched my leg when he asked if I wanted to get together with him back at the Holiday Inn in Golden where our cars were parked. I did not respond. He said "Do you know what I mean?" I said I did. And I did not want to do that.

I look back on what I did to that female dancer with horror. In today's world it could be treated as sexual assault. Nobody else did what I did to her or the other women. I was acting out to disprove that I might be gay (which I was and am) by behaving totally inappropriate.  Of course, she did that same thing in return.  That does not justify either of our conduct.

What the Deputy DA did was worse. He made an actual sexual advance on a member of the same sex. This man later became a judge. What should I do? Should I out him for his conduct 35 years ago?  No. That would be wrong.

I worked for the federal government of a few years in the early 1990s. We were in Salt Lake City closing a savings and loan association. A longtime male employee of the FDIC was moved into our agency to supervise during the closing. He was a Puerto Rican male in his 40s. He repeatedly made crude remarks to a young girl on her first job out of college. She was terrified by his contact. I called my supervisor who was in Denver the first change I got on the Monday after the events. She was immediately assigned to some other task. He was not removed or admonished for his conduct even though everyone who witnessed it knew he was totally out of bounds.

A year later I was in some meeting. I remember this woman employee making suggestive comments about my butt.  Another time a guy asked me if I "worked out".  Of course these comments would make anyone feel uncomfortable. But are they by themselves a reason for a person to lose their job? I think not. Neither then nor now.

Women rightfully object to old white men in Washington or in state capitols making life and death decisions on women's reproductive rights. I don't understand how we got to a point that women have become the arbiters of male conduct to the point where jobs and careers are lost or destroyed.


I will miss Chris Matthews challenging guests to "Tell me something I don't know." He knew so much and challenged us all.

744 Windsor Lane, Key West - SOLD

Congratulations to The Sellers on the sale of 744 Windsor Lane, Key West. Closed March 2, 2020 $4,700,000.  This is my Sellers eight transaction using me as their Realtor. I appreciate their continued loyalty. 

I want to thank Cory Held and Jeffrey Grosky who worked with me on this listing and Joanne Allen of Berkshire Hathaway who represented the Buyers. The Buyers love this new home. 

I also want to thank Greg Oropeza for his legal services and total commitment to getting this deal completed. I know much of the public thinks selling houses and getting deals done is a cakewalk. it isn't. Greg went out of his way to help us complete this transaction. 

I have made friends with the Sellers over the past decade. It all started with my blog - this little blog about Key West real estate. And my goofy comments about life and politics. Thank you Dear Readers as well for following me and making Google know that I exist and that I am available to help others buy or sell a place in Key West.

Key West Open Houses - March 1st

1012 Varela Street 

912 Fleming Street

904 Washington Street

3700 Eagle Avenue

 I will be at 912 Fleming Street today.