New Ronny Bailey Artwork of Old Key West

Ronny Bailey dropped by my office the other day to show me his newest wood carving depicting a Key West cigar maker's cottage of long ago. Frequent Readers of my blog will remember I first learned of Ronny several years ago when he stopped by Preferred Properties Key West to show a new wood installation he had created. Ronny is a Conch, a native Key Wester. He was a general contractor by trade. When he retired he began the second phase of his life as a folk artist. I don't think he started out to be an artist as much as he used his skills as a carpenter to create replicate miniature versions of the facades of homes that used to dot much of our Old Town area. Later he did larger homes and then added some commercial buildings. (CLICK any photo to enlarge it.)

I photographed the above piece in front of the actual house to demonstrate the attention to detail and historical correctness. Ronny used reclaimed Dade County Pine lumber which he cut, planed, sanded, painted to create this remembrance of a time that is now a memory. As our heritage gets "restored" or "renovated" Ronny's works are becoming the last memory of what Key West of years ago once looked like - before everything was decreed by the do-gooders on HARC to become perfect and as contractors took months and months to fix the old old houses at the cost of hundred of thousands of dollars to fix houses that originally only cost a few hundred dollars.

The new wood carving is number five in what may become a series of  many. Ronny told me he joined two boards together with biscuits, stained all sides, and then began to carve the detailed images. The dark stain accentuates the carving. The carving below exhibits the same whimsy, attention to detail as his more elaborate installations.  There are always little touches such as chickens, cats, a hanging light bulb, a mailbox, a broom. Here a clothes line and a stick prop open a window with a propensity to obey Newton's Law of Gravity and a man feeding the chickens in his front yard. I have never seen or heard of locals who eat their chickens. But it wouldn't surprise me. Finally note the three watchwords appearing on each of Ronny's are: Love, Joy, and Peace.

I noticed the address over the door - 522. I asked Ronny the address of the house. He said it was the spirit of our houses, not a particular house, then added the number refers to Galatians 5:22 (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,).  He is a man of faith and those are the guiding spirit of his life.

Locals and returning visitors to Key West can tell the time of year depicted - sometime between May and June when the Royal Poinciana Tree (red tree on the left) is is full bloom. The original home was so minimal in size and construction. It would have cost only a few hundred dollars to build. Today contractors take months and months to restore these homes at the cost of thousands upon thousands of dollars. Of course the red rooster, mama hen, and baby chicks are evermore on this their island home.

It may come to pass that Ronny Bailey's artwork may become the only remaining remnant of historic Key West.

532 Fleming Street - Old Town - Key West

532 Fleming Street - Key West - April 2013

532 Fleming Street - Key West - 1912

The house pictured above looks pretty much the same in 2013 as it did back in 1912 when the colored post card was made. Back then the property was not a "house" but was instead the Louise Maloney Hospital.

Thank God that when other towns across America were allowing old houses and historic buildings to be torn down to erect new structures, Key West preserved properties like this. I found a photo of 532 Fleming Street taken from the parking lot next door which is where the world famous Faustos' Food Emporium is located today.

The red brick building at 500 Simonton Street (photographed in 1965) was the old corner drug store. That makes sense with the hospital located next door. 504 Simonton Street (below) became part of the hospital as well.

I did a quick internet search and learned a brief history of the three properties which were once owned by the Maloney family which later became the Spottswood family. CLICK HERE to view a brief history of the Spottswood Family which mentions the Louise Maloney Hospital. CLICK HERE to read a brief discussion of the three building complex. A member of the Spottswood family still resides at 500 Simonton Street today.

The current owner of 532 Fleming Street commissioned local artist Ronny Bailey to create a depiction of the former Louise Maloney Hospital. I was offered the opportunity to photograph the piece yesterday morning. A crowd had assembled to gaze at the new piece. Everyone was in awe of Ronny's creation. Please take a couple of minutes to view a few of the photos.

Ronny Bailey is a fourth generation conch that spent 30 years of his life restoring many of the old houses in Key West. A few years ago he started fooling around with some salvaged Dade County Pine and created his first new old house replica. His wife came home and exclaimed "I didn't know you could do that!" Ronny replied "Neither did I." And so began his new career as artist-carpenter where he creates miniature near replicas of real houses in Key West using salvaged lumber. Ronny stresses that he only uses old salvaged wood to construct the houses. He doesn't paint the pieces. Instead he relies on the ravages of our sun and the weather to create the natural patina that make each piece look so genuine. Ronny's inner artist comes out when he adds a bit of whimsy to his work such as a rooster or a cat napping.

Since the 532 Fleming Street was commissioned by the owner, Ronny agreed to paint that piece to show the original glory of the house. The dog, cat, and whimsy were not permitted, but Ronny did manage to keep in the three little words that are the hallmark of his blessed life.

CLICK HERE to view more photos of 532 Fleming Street as well as 500 and 504 Simonton Street as they appear today. I added a couple of photos of art created by another of my favorite artists, Rick Worth, who did a rendering of 500 Simonton Street.

There are a lot of artists in Key West. There is only one Ronny Bailey!

Sawyer's Bakery, Key West - Architectural History Preserved in Folk Art

A couple days ago my friend Ronny Bailey pulled his pickup truck across the street from Preferred Properties Key West to show me his newest piece of folk art - his depiction of the former Sawyer's Bakery that used to exist at 913 Eaton Street. Later I searched the Sanborn Fire Map of 1892 and learned the house existed at least that early. I then searched through my old shoebox and found two photos of the property which date as early as 1960 when workers at Southernmost Sign were photographed out front - see below followed by a 2019 photo of the same property.

Ronny Bailey is a fifth generation Conch from the Roberts family line who immigrated to Key West from the Bahamas. He was a carpenter and roofer in his younger years. He started creating these folk art depictions of our older homes and businesses after he retired. He re-purposes salvaged wood which he cuts and cobbles together to make these miniature buildings. He carves the chickens and folk figures like "Nana" inside the store. Ronny gave me a brief history of the property dating back to when it was home with the adjacent house. Later the owner updated the front of 91e Eaton with larger windows so that so that passers by could look inside to see the hats that were for sale. Some of the most important homes in Key West were located on Fleming and Eaton Street back in the late 1800s.

Ronny is a man of faith and always adds what I call his three watch words to each of his pieces of art: love, peace, and joy. If you study the cake in the window above you will see the word joy. Peace is written on the yellow bench. And I Love Cake is on the top of the building.

Stop and checkout the underside of the roof. It's painted blue to keep bees from nesting. The places looks as old as the real thing. That is fresh paint made to look ancient. Inside Ronny's humor can be found on various signs including the yellow sign that reads FREE CAKE TOMORROW. Ronny recreated an actual sign advertising Key Lime Pie for five cents a slice. Check the spelling for accuracy.

Some of Ronny Bailey's folk art can be viewed and purchased at his online Etsy Store CLICK HERE.

If you are in the market for a real 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 . I also bring joy to the world for people who realize the dream of owning a place in Paradise.

408 William Street, Key West - Ronny Bailey's Homage to the Old Bahama House

The thing that makes Key West different from every place else in America is that it is not like everyplace else - not the people, not the climate, not the rat race, and certainly not the houses. Some current local business people may want to change that.  We know who they are; where they live; and they better just not get too far out there if they know what's best. In the meantime let's celebrate our rich heritage of old homes saved from wrecking balls and developers.

408 William Street, Key West, was brought to Key West from Green Turtle Cay in 1847, and settled into its current home on one of the best streets in Old Town. It has received numerous local and state historic preservation awards. All rooms have windows and or doors to provide natural ventilation (there were no air conditioners in the mid 1800s). 

Local folk artist Ronny Bailey created his artistic homage to the "Old Bahama House" also known as the "Richard Roberts House" which I recently photographed on the back of Ronny's pick-up truck.  Ronny is a multi-generation Conch who retired from the carpentry trade several years ago.  He never lost the joy of working with wood. He started messing around with left over pieces of Dade County Pine from old houses. He cut the old boards into tiny pieces which he used to build replicas of real houses in Key West. He created windows, doors, roofs, and shutters using tiny pieces of the salvaged wood which he meticulously painted.  Note the attention to detail even showing variations of the wood actually used in the real house. See also the peeling paint and evidence of potential wood rot forming at the base of the building. This effect was achieved through paint technique.

Ronny told me this project was too important for just one folk artist to undertake. So he enlisted his grandson to paint the picture of the fish which hangs on the inside wall of the house.  Even though the green painted Bahama shutters have a few failing slats, you still cannot see inside the front windows. However, Ronny left the red door ajar where we can see the inside is equally detailed. All of the interior is also painted  including the walls, ceiling, floors, baseboard, and door trim. Look carefully at the grime on the red entry door framed by green trim and weather-beaten yellow siding.

Note the scuttle visible atop the roof above. It can be seen in both the lithograph and in the 1934 black and white photo taken by a WPA photographer who photographed many of the old houses in Key West during the Great Depression. Scuttles were retractable metal boxes on top of roofs which allowed warm air to rise to the outside. This house house has porches on the south and north sides with windows and doors which allows natural air to cool the inside. The metal roof shows signs of age and rust. Remember this is a tiny replica. Ronny taught himself how to bend old metal to the same shape as real roofs. This ain't easy folks. One time Ronny told me that some of his carpenter friends saw his work and decided to emulate (better word for copy) him. He said they gave up. They could cut and put pieces of wood together, but they could not create any piece that resembled his works. I suggest we nominate Ronny to go on America's Got Talent, but we'd all get bored to death because these pieces take months to create. 

You'll also see Ronny's watch words "joy, peace, and love" painted on the house. Ronny's watch words appear on each of his works. See if you can find them.

Ronny's homage to the Old Bahama House will be on display at the Key West Custom House.

The Key West/Bahamas Connection

January 18 - April 7, 2019

Custom House Museum | Bryan Gallery

Follow me on TWITTER to get important new MLS listings that I may not be able to blog about but which may interest you. Being first can mean the difference in getting the right place and getting left out.