921 Whitehead Street - Old Town Key West

I showed the centuries old house located at 921 Whitehead Street in Key West yesterday afternoon.  As I sat on the front porch waiting for the prospective buyer I looked across the street at the historic old Key West lighthouse. I was so taken by the view. This is the kind of house so many home shoppers want but which, sadly, only a few can afford. I mused how different the house and the view would have been a century earlier before all the tourists arrived when the former residents would pass the time of day as horse drawn carts passed by this truly grand home.

I searched the 1889 Historic Sanborn Fire Map and learned that 217 Whitehead Street was on that map. The 1892 map showed that 217 Whitehead Street had been renumbered 921 Whitehead Street. So we know that this old house existed as early as 1889.   

When you walk inside the house that first couple of things you notice are the huge staircase to the left, the wide hallway and rich wood floors, and the doorway that opens to the right which leads into the kitchen and dining area.  The living room at 921 Whitehead Street is now at the rear where it has views of the pool.

The pool and deck area are surprisingly large. The pool is extra long and ought to be sunny for most of the day. The pool area is very private. There is a bricked patio behind the living area. There are bricked side yards on both sides of the house where the mechanical systems and storage is located.  It looked to me as though this home has been fastidiously maintained.
The home has four bedrooms. One bedroom is located on the main floor. The master suite is on the second floor where there is also a guest bedroom. There is a third floor has two rooms plus bath.

The two petite French doors to the left open out to the second floor front porch. I walked outside to take in the view of the old lighthouse across the street. The keeper's house is located to the lower left and the lighthouse to the right. I spied tourists taking selfies. Maybe I'll be in one of their photos as a keepsake of their time in Paradise.

CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this incredibly handsome historic Key West located only a couple of steps away from the Ernest Hemingway House. The Southernmost Point is just a couple of blocks to the south. The tower at the US spy station is viewable in the photo above. It is located next to Ft Zach Taylor State Park and Beach which is a ten minute or so walk or bike ride.  Duval Street and all of the daytime and nighttime hullabaloo is one block to the east.

And CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this beautiful Key West home. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a private showing.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  

1324 Seminary Street #B, Key West, Florida

Buyers who are looking for either an affordable full time residence in Key West home or a getaway place with a pool, parking, and a price that won't break the bank ought to consider 1324 Seminary Street #B in Key West. The listing Realtor, not me, describes this condominium this way:

"Adorable 2-Bedroom Condo with Private Pool. Built in 1933 and renovated in 2004, this is one of two units tucked away in a secluded enclave with its own pool (not shared with the other condo). Totally fenced for privacy and tropically landscaped. Ample off-street parking and low condo fees make this the perfect little hideaway. Located two blocks off White St and just a short walk or bike ride to Faustos, Bay View Park and downtown. New central A/C and storm shutters. Move-in condition!"

The building was converted into two condominiums in 2004. Unit #B is located at the rear of the property and is a bit larger than the front unit. The yard is totally fenced for privacy and has new concrete walkways and pool deck.  The exterior of the building looks to be in very good condition. CLICK HERE to see more photos I took.

The home has 744 sq ft of interior living space composed of the living area, two good sized bedrooms, kitchen, bath, and a family room with vaulted ceiling and French doors that open out to the pool.  The asking price is just $399,000 or $536 per sq ft. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this property. The condo fees are $419.15 per month which covers common area maintenance, building insurance, and exterminating.  Since there are just two units in this condo association, I think it would be difficult to finance.  I think the probable buyer would pay cash for this home.

The New Key West Fire Department is Finally Complete - The Torture is Over!

It's over!  Thank God, it's over! I won't have to deal with big burly guys pushing me around anymore. I won't have to endure being bullied and having to walk a couple blocks out to way to go to my office. They didn't demand my lunch money - no they just made life a living hell for the last year. They blocked the little lane that leads to the parking lot behind my office. They erected barriers and diverted traffic so that I could not get into my parking lot. For several weeks I didn't know which street to take to work. I had to call a friend at local hotel to ask if I could park there. And when I could park in our lot, my car got thoroughly dusted with this mixture of concrete and dust that mixed with the moisture in the air to create a tough coat of goo to cover my car.   Local politicians do what all politicians do - they invited photographers over to the construction site, smiled for the cameras, and took credit for the new fire station that was built to replace the old one.

For many, many years the old fire station was also the police station and city hall for Key West. The building located at the corners of Simonton and Angela Street was built in the 1950s and worked just fine for decades. But as the City of Key West prospered and as local government grew (governments always grow - they never contract!), the governing officials decided they needed to build more buildings to house the bulging bureaucracy.  Several years ago the police department was relocated to North Roosevelt Boulevard. And after years of debating, a new city hall is being constructed inside the walls of the former Key West high school at the corners of White and United Streets. I'll write about that some day soon. But for now I'd like to share some photos that show the history of the old building and the new one.

The aerial photo above show the former city hall, police station, and fire department located at the corner of Simonton and Angela Streets. The two story parking garage and city hall annex are located adjacent to the north. The phone company building is at the corner of Simonton at Southard.

The above photo shows the building in 1962.  There were two bays for fire department vehicles. The police department entrance was at the rear. City hall entrance was at the Angela Street doorway.

The above photo shows the back side of the building in 1965.  The parking garage had not been built yet. The city hall annex is to the left. The larger building at the rear is the phone company building.

The decidedly ugly city parking structure is shown above. City fathers tore down this eyesore several years ago. Later the city hall annex seen to the right was taken down. The photo below shows the demolition of that building in August 2011. For readers who care about governmental efficiency, please note that the current batch of city fathers are now considering tearing up the newly built parking lot to build a new parking garage where the old one once existed. I think this is how politicians work in most places. It's probably not something specific to Key West. Of course, if they had to build buildings with their own money, other decisions might be made.

The big trucks and construction equipment moved into my neighborhood in March 2014. I took this photo from the back door at Preferred Properties parking lot looking to the south. The old fire station remained active in place while the construction of the new building took place. Within a matter of a couple of weeks pre-stressed concrete slabs were put together like LEGO blocks. However, it took months of work by various trades to complete the mechanical, electrical, HVAC, roof, and interiors.

I walked over to take photos of the project last August 13th. The old fire station was still in use. As I passed by I looked over to the picnic table where fireman sometimes sat to eat lunch and noticed this bent over figure which I first though was a fireman.

I looked closer. I laughed out loud. Even the firemen were exhausted by all the commotion.

If you are familiar with the location, you know that this particular corner floods like crazy every time there is a rain storm in Key West. City fathers (the city dollars) have tried to fix the flooding at various times over the years. Part of the redevelopment of this site included new sewer and water service and a new attempt to take storm runoff water away from the site. The one storm I witnessed moved the water from the intersection about forty feet west - just about where the yellow vehicle is shown above or in front of the entrance to the Garden Hotel.

It took about three weeks to bring down the old fire station. She was a tough old broad to be sure. As she finally succumbed to the heavy equipment the visage of the new building began to emerge. Of course I could "see" the building but I was trying to figure out what it would actually look like. Now I had given a brief glance to the plans as they appeared in the paper. That was useless. I needed to look at it myself. 

The parking lot was paved. Sprinkler systems and light poles were installed throughout the space. Palm trees and ground cover appeared like magic. One day the place was barren. A couple of days later it was like Samatha Stevens had twitched her nose to dumbfound Mrs. Kravitz. CLICK HERE to see more photos I took and some that I borrowed of our old city hall, police station, and fire station and of our new Old Town Fire House.

I live a couple of blocks away from the new city hall is being built.  It's gonna be like Déjà vu all over again.