Hearse Story

Since I have had so much time on my hands lately, and there are only so many Netflix series to watch, I returned to Google search and sought to find a picture of a place that gave me might mares since I was a child. The above building is identified as The Monarch Crest Cafe & Curios located atop Monarch Pass, Colorado. It burned to the ground in 1988 because the Salida Fire Department's newest truck blew its engine heading up the Pass.

That place does not look menacing now, but I vividly recall it at night decades ago when my parents would stop their for something to eat after crossing Monarch Pass on our way to Gunnison, Colorado for a fishing trip. There is nothing about the building to scare a little boy. But in the dark of  night when we pulled in or left the restaurant, my dad would forever take me over and lift me up to look inside the old hearse parked in front. 

I found the above photo in a the Salida historic photos. It shows a buggy that looked much like the old hearse in front of the Monarch Crest except there were no side doors. Instead there were windows through which you could see the casket of the dearly departed.  I seem to recall a fake body in the casket - perhaps it was stuffed with straw.  I know there was something there that terrified wee me. He also delighted driving on the side of mountain passes pointing his right hand at the vistas and then narrowly avoided falling down the side of the mountain. I thank my father for these forever fears.

In this time when almost everyone is terrified about the future, look back with me to a little boy being terrified of a thing in box atop a huge mountain pass in the dead of night.  That is scary.  It is something you do not get over. What we are going through will end.  There will be a new normal. The thing that is the worse right now is me looking with suspicion at someone in the grocery store. And that person looking back at me in the same way.

The Commercial Projects of Key West - Spring 2020

How many readers remember when there was an F.W. Woolworth's located at the Searstown Shopping Center or a J.C Penny store located at the Overseas Market? Or that there was a Kenny Rogers Roasters located at 2514 N. Roosevelt Blvd before it became Centennial Bank? We drive by houses and buildings so often that we sometimes miss the changes that occur. And sometimes we see places so infrequently that we can't remember what is used to look like.  Today's blog is a continuation in a series showing some of the more notable commercial projects in Key West.

I encourage readers to hit the CLICK HERE link in each series.  There are some historic and many progress photos.  Any reader is welcome to save and re-use any photo here. 

2120 North Roosevelt Blvd.

The black and white photo at the top was taken of the original Burger King restaurant in 1965. The photo below it was taken a couple of days prior to Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The roof got damaged in the storm and Burger King never reopened.  I started photographing the renovations in September 2019 and the completed pictures this past weekend. I was out of the country in early December 2019 when Popeye's opened but well remember the first time I drove past. Cars were backed up more than a block on North Roosevelt waiting to go there. And the parking lot was jammed with cars. CLICK HERE for more photos.

2222 North Roosevelt Blvd.

April 1, 2019

March 28, 2020

I began taking photos of the former Yamaha dealership at 2222 North Roosevelt in December 2018. Much of the original building was glass. Workers took the place apart bit by bit with the glass remaining in place and unbroken.The dis-assemblage seemed to go on forever. After the roof was removed, painters re-painted the iron frame and then installed a new roof.  Concrete blocks were added along with a new skin. The lot was paved and new signage added last week. CLICK HERE to view the laborious process. Compare this project with a much larger project going on across the street at 2401 North Roosevelt Blvd.

2401 North Roosevelt Blvd.

I found the 1950 black and white photo of the Hilton Haven Motel which became the Banana Bay Resort located at 2401 North Roosevelt (aka 2319 N. Roosevelt) which was razed in 2018 along with the adjacent Fairfield Inn. A substantial amount of fill was brought to elevate the site above flood plane. Trees from the original Banana Bay resort were replanted shortly after the fill dirt was added. Two separate projects were built at the same time using different building techniques. I believe the building in the foreground is going to be long term living while the building in the rear will be a hotel. I was amazed how quickly this massive development took shape. CLICK HERE to see all the photos.

2312 North Roosevelt Blvd.

Our office listed the former Banner Tire at 2312 North Roosevelt Blvd which I blogged about a couple of times. This is property enjoyed a huge frontage on North Roosevelt Boulevard heading toward Old Town. The Key West Yacht Club is located across the street. I was hoping for a more  upscale development. We ended up with a SONIC. CLICK HERE for more photos.

1119 White Street

The old gas station still survives after being re-purposed as a bagel shop, a gym, and now a vacation rental check-in center. White Street is a thriving little street with several restaurants and hair salons, yoga studios, gyms, butcher shop, grocery store, tile stores, pet store, and more and more. The Atlantic Ocean is four or five blocks to the south. CLICK HERE to see more photos. Congratulations to Brenda Donnelly for taking on this project. I wish her a speedy recovery to her business which was thriving before the shutdown.

1515 Bertha Street - Marty's Place

Marty's Place was a 16 unit independent housing apartment complex located at 1515 Bertha Street, Mid-Town near the high school and within walking distance to the Atlantic Ocean. AH Monroe County demolished the former cottage style units to build 47 one bedroom units (12 ADA units) with a mix of independent and assisted living apartments. A health clinic will be housed in the building. There will also be 16 parking spaces. It is predicted most of the residents do not drive cars. The cottages and trees are gone but there are three times as many living units most of which are larger in size and much better construction. CLICK HERE for photos.

825 Duval Street

825 Duval Street - 2011

825 Duval Street - January 2020

Several of the historic old homes in the 800 block of Duval Street were torn down years before the Old Island Restoration Foundation ws formed to halt the destruction of our old treasures. Duval Street had several gas stations including one at 825 Duval Street shown above. I remember the renovation in the late 1990s still evident in the 2011 photo. I was driving on Olivia Street in early January and snapped a photo of the most recent redo. It is so eerie to see Duval Street free of people. They will return. They may be wearing gas masks at Fantasy Fest but they will return.

Truman Avenue Guest Houses

701 Division Street

701 Truman became El Siboney Guest House

705 Truman became Chelsea House

707 Truman Ave present day

705 Truman Ave present day

El Siboney Guest House Destroyed by Fire 1985

The color postcard at the top of this series shows some of the Grand Old Dames located on Division Street as it was called in the 1920s. The street later became Truman Avenue. 701 Truman Ave later became the El Siboney Guest House which was destroyed by fire in 1985. 705 Truman Ave became the Chelsea House and 707 Truman became the Red Rooster. In 2018 a California hotel group purchased several guest houses in Key west. The new owner undertook a massive renovation of each property in 2019. The Truman Avenue buildings were completed just a short time before the Corona shutdown. I do not look at the shut down as fatal to this project. This owner took their properties off the late 2019 to mid 2020 season to upgrade the properties. They have a long range view of our market. My take on this is that guest houses like these are the reason Key West has been so popular with visitors. You can stay in a resort style hotel anywhere in the world. These places are like your grandmother's house - if she were rich. People will flock back to Key West as soon as they can.  CLICK HERE to view more photos.

2814 North Roosevelt Blvd

 I added the recent sale of the Overseas Market to remind readers how vibrant our local economy has been and will return to.  We have three good sized shopping centers with large grocery stores. All three stores are open and are always busy.  The only difference now is that we do not have the Searstown Publix overwhelmed by rich tourists buying up all the delicacies.  Go there or the Eaton Street Fish Market and you will see what I mean. They cannot spend enough money. Don't fear folks, they will return.