717 Galveston Lane - A Last Little Piece of Old Key West

Just Listed, but not by me, 717 Galveston Lane, Key West.  This 532 square foot cottage is tucked away on a little lane near the top of Solaris Hill in the heart of Old Town. The lot measures about 40.5' X 71.5' or 2903 sq ft. The above photos demonstrates the lot is large enough to accommodate two cars and that suggests all kinds of wonderful things a new owner could do with this property.

I searched the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps to try to determine the approximate age of this small home. It first appeared in the 1892 map when it was identified as 19 Low's Alley.  The street name was changed to Lowe's Alley on the 1899 map. The same house first identified as 19 Low's Alley became 717 Galveston Lane on the 1912 Sanborn Map.  The above photo shows 717 Galveston Lane in 1965. You will notice a 1950s vintage CBS (concrete block structure) located next door to the south. The Sanborn maps showed a wood house on that same site dating back to the 1892 map. It was obviously razed for some reason. What a loss as this block is otherwise picturesque. I looked thru my old shoebox and found a couple of additional photos taken in the 1930s by WPA workers which I want to share with you now. Those photos depict the charm of this gem of a location which until a few years ago had not been updated to the same extent of other areas of Old Town.

 I studied this 1930's vintage photo of Galveston Lane which appeared in Redbook magazine in the 1930's. I am fairly certain the photo was taken just off Windsor Lane looking south. Notice the large house to the left rear. That must have been the house that was razed. The children were probably standing in front of 717 Galveston Lane.

Galveston Lane jogs to the left about 60 feet south of 717 Galveston Lane and passes by Bill Butler Park. It then proceeds a couple of hundred feet to the south where it ends and intersects Olivia Street. The photo just below shows 845 Galveston Lane as it appeared in 1965. The second photo shows 845 Galveston Lane a couple of weeks ago. That historic eyebrow house is now near the completion of its renovation and expansion. While 845 Galveston Lane is a much larger home and sits on a lot which is huge by comparison, the photos demonstrate the transformation potential for vintage homes on this little block. (845 Galveston Ln will appear in an upcoming blog on the projects of Key West.)

 Finally, I found the above photo of Solaris Hill taken in the late 1970s. I noted the location of 717 Galveston Lane with an arrow. Solares Hill is the highest point in Key West. Houses in this area are located in the X Zone for flood insurance purposes. If you buy this house, your lender will not require that you purchase flood insurance. But it you do buy it, it will be at the cheapest rate offered.

The listing Realtor describes 717 Galveston Lane this way:

"Old Town Key West cottage on a large lot on a quiet lane, ready to make your own. Off the beaten path yet centrally located to everything in Old Town. Walk in Shed and off street parking for 2 cars."

I sold a similar home on Galveston Lane a couple of years ago. Although it had been updated, my buyers are going to expand that house and add a pool They have engaged local architect Guillermo Orozco to design their upcoming renovation project. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 717 Galveston Lane which is offered at $459,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up a private showing of this little house with a great location. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  

You Never Know What You'll See in Key West - A True Story

Two of the things I love about Key West are our wonderful weather and that life here never is predictable. Take for example an incident that occurred a few years back when I was riding my bike to the old Club Body Tech on upper Duval Street. It was riding west in the 800 block of Washington Street around 6:00 AM. I remember it was still pitch black outside. Just after I passed the El Patio Motel I saw a young man in his early twenties walking down the middle of the street. There was nothing special about that, per se. This part of the Casa Marina Area does not have sidewalks. Many people walk in the street. But this guy was different. You see he was totally nude. He walked to my left. I looked back. Yep, he was buck naked. No doubt about it. I thought to myself that's too odd even for Key West. I circled the block and found a public phone at the youth hostel on South Street where I called the police. The operator asked me to describe the naked man. How was I supposed to answer that?

I got back on my bike and headed over to the corner of Reynolds and Washington Street which was the area where the nude dude should have reached by that point. I saw a young woman at the bus stop and asked if she had seen the nude man. She said she had. She said he disappeared behind some apartments on Washington Street.  I looked back and saw no sign of the guy. The young lady asked me to wait with her until her bus came.  I told her I had called the police and agreed to wait.

About 5 to 10 minutes elapsed before the police finally arrived. The nude man had totally vanished by this point. I flagged the cop's attention  He got out of his car and started to approach me. I started to describe what  I had seen earlier. Then I noticed the unclad lad emerge from between two apartment buildings. As I write this I just recalled the guy was then carrying a baseball bat. He did not have the bat the first time I saw him.  The cop saw him and walked toward him with his flashlight drawn and said "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" He put the guy in his patrol car and took him to the pokey. Later that day I looked at the Monroe County Sheriff's office website. The naked bat boy was being held on a mental health hold.

 You never know what you will see in Key West. That's just part of the fun about living in Paradise.

If you are thinking of buying a place in Key West please consider working with me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, email: kw1101v@aol.com.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

618 Whitehead Street, Key West - Just Listed!

Just Listed 618 Whitehead Street, Key West, Florida. This 2354 square foot home sits close to the street.  Half the house is obscured by a giant Royal Poinciana tree. If you look carefully you will see pediments over the windows and doors.  These pediments often are clarions of gracious interiors - often, but not always. I searched thru my old shoebox and found a photo of this property and the house at 620 Whitehead Street taken half a century ago. The picture of 618 Whitehead shows the architectural features in greater detail including the pediments over the windows and doors and the ornate railing on the first and second floor porches.  A small fence existed then but the tree had not been planted. The two story home located at 620 Whitehead Street was razed in 1972. Today that space is a parking lot.

618 Whitehead Street in the mid 1960s

618 Whitehead Street first appeared in the 1889 Sanborn Fire Map as 328 Whitehead Street. The street number was changed to 618 Whitehead Street on the 1892 Sanborn map. This property is located one-half block to the south of the Monroe County Courthouse. I found an aerial photo taken in the 1920s. I marked the location of 618 Whitehead with an arrow. You can click the photo to enlarge it. If you look at the image you will see that this house appears to be an amalgamation of three buildings combined into one larger building.  Moreover, today there is a fourth addition at the rear.  Most of the buildings in this block, whether originally built as houses or commercial, are now commercial enterprises. The Green Parrot Bar is at the corner of Southard Street.  There are a couple of small guest houses, a few law firms, a legitimate massage studio, and a snack shop. This building was previously the "home" to a title company, a real estate office, and an apartment. Today 618 Whitehead Street is a a gracious single family home which was renovated to be used as a monthly vacation rental. 

No matter how many additions and uses this property had in the past, the present home is gracious and inviting. The home has been updated to meet the demands for modern day living with style and panache.

Like many recent renovations, this home has been re-oriented by moving the prime living and social areas to the rear. Bedrooms are located at the first floor front and on the second floor. This gives the homeowner the opportunity to incorporate the large pool and deck into everyday life.

The house sits on a 32.76' X 100' lot which is fairly large for Old Town. The lot looks and feels much larger because the front of the house at the property line. The result is the backyard seems immense. Swimming and tanning enthusiasts will love this place. There is a nice covered space just off the living room and kitchen which the current owners use for outdoor grilling and dining.

There are two bedrooms located at the first floor front both of which have en-suite baths. You will notice an abundance of original Dade County Pine walls and ceilings in this home. Each bedroom has been designed with large closets as well. Central air was added to the property. Each bedroom has a ceiling fan as well.

The stairway leads to the second floor landing which provides support to my proposition that three buildings were combined into one house The two photos above show the entry door into the master bedroom located on the rear side of the second floor. This is a large and spacious room with a huge walk-in closet, large en-suite bath, and a door that exits the rear sundeck which overlooks the pool below.

The second floor rear deck provides a nice place to read a book, take a nap, or plan what you or your guests will do to complete the day.

Both second floor front bedrooms have private en-suite baths and ample closets. They share immediate access to the covered front porch which spans the breadth of the house. This is a perfect perch for watching tourists and locals making their way each day as they walk to or from the end of Whitehead Street to take photos of the Southernmost Point and Hemingway House or to walk west on Southard Street toward  Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and Beach. Duval Street is just one block to the east. This is the perfect location for an active owner or vacation guest to be located to take advantage of all that Key West has to offer. CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this home.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 618 Whitehead Street which is offered for sale at $2,200,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to arrange a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

Every Vote Matters

The photo below shows me, far left (lol), waiting to shake hands with Vice President Humbert H. Humphrey in his hotel room at the Hilton Hotel in Denver in 1968. That was nearly fifty years ago. The photo was taken a few weeks before the Democratic National Convention which I attended as a member of the Colorado delegation.  I left the convention the day after Humphrey won the nomination - I refused to stay to watch him accept the nomination. I felt the whole thing was rigged.

1968 was a pivotal year in American history. These are a few of the events that happened that year:

In early spring Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota challenged Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic Nomination as President.

On March 31 President Lyndon Johnson announced the would not seek nor would he accept the nomination of his party for another term as President.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis on April 4th. Within a few days riots broke out across America. Cities burned. A month later Senator Ted Kennedy spoke at the Colorado Jefferson Jackson Dinner held at the Hilton Hotel. I was there that Saturday night. He had every man and woman in tears as he described the positive changes that had occurred as a result of Martin Luther King's life and leadership and loss we faced with his death.

Senator Robert F Kennedy was assassinated on June 6th within minutes after winning the California Democratic Primary Election.

Governor George Wallace of Alabama mounted a hugely successful candidacy to challenge both Vice President Hubert H Humphrey and Governor Richard M Nixon.

The Viet Nam War divided America more than any event I can remember in my years on earth. Half of America wanted to leave Viet Nam and the other half wanted to destroy it as if that would destroy Communism and restore our old world order.  Families were split. Generations were at war with each other with the older generation supporting the war effort and the younger generation demanding that we exit Asia. Many of the men in the service were branded as "baby killers". Young men that refused to join the war effort were called "draft dodgers" except guys like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump who got suspicious deferments. I got one of those deferments. I ended up feeling guilty as hell. 

The angst of the youth was not limited to the United States. In an era before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even the internet, young people across the world protested the war and social injustice. I watched the CBS Evening News every night and watched Walter Cronkite recounting the demise of the world. Each day I wondered what next would happen.

I was holdup in my dorm room in Fort Collins, Colorado thinking the world was about to end. Election Day came. I voted my conscious and not my party. I got my ballot and wrote-in the name of Eugene McCarthy for President and Abraham Ribicoff as Vice President. I wasted my vote. For that I am ashamed. I was smarter than that. But I voted with emotion rather than reason. Richard Nixon won the election, not because he was the most favored, but because he had the most electoral votes. Nixon had 301 electoral votes, Humphrey had 191, and George Wallace had 46.  My vote didn't change the election, but I know a lot of Democrats sat out the election or chose not to vote for Humphrey. We got Richard Nixon and all the chaos and rancor that followed. I realize now that our collective lives would have been different and I believe they would have been better.  I don't think the divisions that the Nixon era generated would have happened. He was a divisive figure.  I think his impeachment created the nexus to get a Democrat in revenge - not because it was merited but because Republicans sought equity. I may or may not be correct about that. It is what I think. I could be very wrong.  But I do know our reality would be entirely different had Humphrey won.

Forty-eight years later our country is facing a new election and has choices not everyone is excited about. I am excited about my candidate and have given money to the campaign. I will enthusiastically cast my ballot this year. I urge votes to vote. I know for certain that there will be a new reality no matter which person wins this election.

If you think one votes does not matter, you are wrong! Every vote matters!