PARIS, a Remembrance

Our train from London pulled into Paris on a late afternoon in June 1963. I was traveling with 17 other teens and two chaperons from the western suburbs of Denver to do grand tour that many American teenagers get to do. We got our bags and checked into a small hotel on the Left Bank. It was a walk-up. I shared a room with Bill Roberts. I think we were on the third or fourth floor. I remember the windows opened out to the mansard roofs across the street and sky above. I had never seen a sight like this before. I loved the architecture and could not wait for our adventure to begin.

Our chaperons gave each of us a few French Francs and let us go in search of some Parisian cafe. Bill and I and a couple of girls walked around and found a little place on what I will call a "V corner". The building was like the Flatirons building in New York only much smaller in size. Our chaperons had written a note which we gave to the matrie de explaining that we had so much money to feed the four of us. He shook his head indicating "impossible". One of us pulled out the money and he brought us right inside and sat us down. I think we all ordered chicken.

My prior experiences with chicken was limited to eating my mother's incredible fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy which was a mainstay on most Sundays. When we would go out to eat I would usually have chicken, spaghetti, or shrimp. Back in the 1950s and early 1960s restaurant fare was pretty simple at least where I came from. So I was totally unprepared for the simple but utterly delicious roasted chicken and French fries I ate that night along with a glass of white wine. Yes I could order wine at age 16 and no I had never drank wine before that night. It was one of the best meals of my life. I remember it fondly.

We did all the things teen tourists do. We went to the Louve, Notre Dame, the Seine, the Arc de triomphe, the Opera, the Eiffel Tower, Montmarte, Sacré Cœur, and Versailles. One night we went to the Moulin Rouge where we had another chicken dinner (they must sell a lot of those in Paris), but this time I drank champagne for the first time. In fact I drank quite a bit of it. I got to see nearly naked women for the first time in my life. They wore tiny little bikinis and pasties as they performed onstage. There was some young muscle guy performing with them. His privates were barely covered. I had never seen anything like this in my little life Lakewood, Colorado. The next day the girls said I behaved badly the night before. All I can say is that I didn't get arrested unlike one of the three other boys who did get a ticket for being a disorderly drunk a couple of weeks later in Vienna. I had many great experiences that summer. Paris will always be a treasured memory of my youth.

I returned to Paris twice since my trip in 1963. In the late 1990s I stayed at the Hotel Lancaster and Meurice for a week and made up for inexpensive roasted chicken dinner of my youth by trying to spend as much money on dining as I could. A few years later I returned for my third-times'-a-charm in this wonderful city. On my later trips I went back to the Louve and other tourist spots. But my best memories of  Paris is the early morning and late afternoon walks I would take walking through the neighborhoods where I would see how the people lead their lives.

And then last night all hell broke loose. If you have read my blog for some time you know I often go back to moments in my youth to tell little tales about how a simple little nerd kid who grew up in the America of the 1950s ended up in Key West. I look back on my youth with mostly fond memories. Life was so much simpler then. We got by on so much less. We all did because we did not have all of the "stuff" that exist today. We did not suffer. We did not miss anything. When our copy of the Saturday Evening Post arrived and I saw a Norman Rockwell picture, it was a picture of the way we really lived. Now I know I lived a lot better than a lot of people in this county. We weren't rich, but we were not poor. We were middle class people. My mom and dad both worked. The pictures I saw on that magazine and in LIFE and LOOK magazine were the way we all lived. And that way of life is now gone forever. What happened last night would have never happened in the 1950s. I don't know what has happened to people to make them act so inhumanely.

I live on a little island out in the middle of the ocean. I feel safe. People are nice here. We are far removed from the insanity of the rest of our world.

Pray for Paris.

1104 South Street, Key West - Price Reduction

You know the saying "You can't judge a book by its cover". Well in Key West real estate you often cannot tell how incredible a house is by the view from the street. The home at 1104 South Street presents a simple facade. If you are just driving by you might think the house sits above the garage below. And you would be wrong.  Passers by have no idea how magical the house is behind the facade. Now there's a better reason to stop and take note of this unique property because the asking price has just been reduced to $1,990,000. 

Two glass panel doors at the front driveway open to a entry where water drips down flagstone walls and delivers you to an intersecting exterior walkway that leads to the main entry or alternately to the pool and garden area. The listing Realtor describes this home this way:

"With a pleasing but unassuming exterior, this house is a dramatic surprise inside. Entrance is through a long cool breezeway with trickling water walls on either side. This leads to a series of interconnected pavilions with soaring cathedral ceilings and walls of French doors. The huge living room, spacious dining room, kitchen and study surround an intimate courtyard with lushly landscaped swimming pool. The secluded master suite has four walls of windows and several inviting balconies. There is a bedroom suite downstairs and a separate guest bedroom and bath upstairs with its own rooftop deck. All this and an enclosed garage too. This unique home is very special."

The living room and adjacent study provide comfortable living spaces. Both rooms have French doors that open out to the deck and pool area. The study area flows into the kitchen which flows into the dining pavilion.

This home is a bit of a contradiction. It sort of looks all glamorous and almost to perfect to live in. And yet it has such an easy flow and genuine relaxed and comfortable feeling when you are there. I immediately "got" this place. I know I would love living here. Even though the house is pretty amazing, it is the easy transition from the architecturally interesting interiors to the simple pool and lush gardens that make this home very appealing.

The large canvas sails over the pool deck area emanate from the second floor guest suite which has its own sun deck which provides the perfect place to get a stunning Key West all over tan. The bedroom with en-suite bath is just adorable.

There is a main level guest suite and bath located on the main level. I took more photos of this wonderful home which you may see if you CLICK HERE.

The master bedroom is located on the second floor of the "carriage house" at the front of the property. This space is both expansive and dramatic.

French doors open from the bedroom and bathroom out to two separate covered second floor balconies. I can imagine sitting out here in the morning sipping coffee and watching neighbors out walking the dog or jogging. At night you could look off to the west and see our magnificent Key West flirted just a bit by the swaying palms that dot the Casa Marina neighborhood.


CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 1104 South Street which is offered by Preferred Properties Key West at the asking price of $1,990,000. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this special home. There is not another like this in all of Key West.

400 Simonton Street, Key West, Florida - Investment Property

Just Listed, but not by me, 400 Simonton Street in Key West, Florida. According to the Monroe County Appraiser this landmark building was built circa 1889. See the black and white photo which shows how this property looked back in 1965. That's nearly half a century ago. My God, I graduated from high school that year. Compare it to the color photo below. The property has had various uses over the years. And now it is offered for sale. The listing broker describes this property like this:

"Historic Downtown Home from the late 1800's just a few steps from the Seaport. There are 6 charming apartments each with old town architectural appeal. A mixture of studio, one bedroom and two bedroom units. Small garden area with a tropical feel and many porches for tenants to enjoy."

 The building itself looks to be in very good shape. Compare the way the building looked in 1965 to its appearance in today. It is virtually the same. Even the exterior stairs between the floors is visible. According to the mls listing this building has 4078 sq ft of living space located on a 4200 sq ft lot (42'x100') at the corner of Eaton Street and Simonton Street. Zoning is HNC1.  

I considered buying this property and the adjacent Artist House guest house (located next door at 534 Eaton Street) when that owner at that time was tinkering with the idea of selling both buildings. He had been renting rooms at 400 Simonton Street as part of the guest house. I don't know if he ever got caught because that is not permitted. That owner sold both properties to different people. The Artist House has sold at least twice since then. Today the property at 400 Simonton Street is licensed to rent six non-transient long term rentals.

I took a couple of not-so-good photos of the bricked courtyard and was reminded that the area was previously used as a small cafe. I think that space is quite lovely but very under utilized today. 

The thing that excites me about this property has nothing to do about the current uses but rather what it might become. Years ago the first floor was a real estate company and the bricked garden was a small cafe of sorts.  Earlier this week the owners of the Marquesa Hotel announced a $10 million dollar expansion onto the adjacent properties at 410 and 414 Simonton Street. CLICK HERE to read more. Use your imagination to see what you might do with this property at this great Old Town location. 408 Simonton Street is pictured below. That's but a taste of what is to become.

The Reception area at the Marquesa Annex

400 Simonton Street is offered for sale at $1,600,000.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this property. 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. Tenants may require 24 to 48 hour advance notice to view the apartments. This is a buying opportunity for a buyer who wants either a performing investment property or someone who wants to do something creative with a great old building in a very solid location.

1314 Laird Street, Key West

Just Listed 1314 Laird Street located at the corner of Sunshine Drive and Laird Street in Key West. The listing Realtor describes this 1260 sq ft two story home this way:

"This nearly-new single family home in Atlantic Estates is in pristine condition and easy to maintain. Located close to the beaches and Old Town. The modern great-room design overlooks the private pool and outside entertainment area. Loaded with upscale amenities such as bamboo floors, granite counter tops, 9 ft. ceilings with crown moldings, and stainless steel appliances. The property is completely fenced and lushly landscaped. The windows and doors are impact resistant and the structure is built to withstand 180 MPH winds. Two off-street parking spaces. Exceptionally low insurance rates. Green energy package includes R-19 insulation in the walls, R-22 insulation in bottom and middle floors. R-30 insulation in the attic and super high efficient tankless whole house water heater. Exterior is finished with Hardi siding."

Second floor front porch where you can watch nothing happen

Atlantic Estates is a small enclave of recently built modular homes located  a couple of blocks north of the Atlantic Ocean and just one block east of White Street. Locals and frequent visitors to Key West know this area as being  within easy walking distance to the White Street Pier, Higgs' Beach, our famous ocean front doggie park, and Salute on the Beach.  However, if you buy this house, you'll have your own private pool and won't need to share the sunshine with anybody. When you need a drink, you won't have to dip into your kids' education fund to pay for it. Let's look at this home from bottom to top. If you have seen any of the other homes here before, you will notice this one is a bit smaller and instead of having three bedrooms and three baths, this home has two bedrooms both of which are on the second floor.  That means this home is about 400 sq ft smaller than the other homes. The owners picked this corner lot and had this home specially made to preserve an existing tree on the site.

If you enter this home for the very first time on a day when the rear doors are opened, you can't but help being drawn to the pool and deck area. There's plenty of Key West sun there. After all the house is aptly located adjacent to Sunshine Drive. You'll also note these homes are constructed with Hardiboard siding which is insect, fire, and moisture resistant. This means the house will stand up to Key West's intense heat, humidity, rain, and termites which find the cement based material less than desirable to eat. Traditional wood siding requires constant vigilance here whereas Hardiboard needs painted less often and does not rot. The impact windows and doors plus the siding and metal roof means this home will qualify for substantial discounts on fire and wind insurance policies. You'll rest a bit easier knowing you can afford this place as compared to many stick built houses down in the Old Town area.

The master bedroom shown above has an ensuite bath plus rear deck which looks down to the private pool. You will get nice morning sunshine from this vantage point. The pool and deck area should be sunny through most of the day.  The guest bedroom is at the front of the house. That bedroom also has a private balcony which is pictured just below the lead photo in today's blog. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos. 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. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.