Key West from the Inside Out

Let's take a look at Key West from the inside looking out. And what a better place to start than the end.

From the front door on Passover Lane looking out to the Key West Cemetery.

From the dining area at the rear of a sweet little house in the 700 block of Southard Street.

From an apartment on upper Duval Street.

From a house on Grinnell Street looking down to a cottage on Cornish Lane.

From the master bedroom wing of a unique home across from Bayview Park.

From a guest cottage overlooking the home pool.

Three separate cottages on Fleming Street were combined and enlarged to create a stunning residence.

People all over the world know this location. Only a few ever got to see it from this vantage point.

From inside a bedroom at the front of the house looking out to Petronia Street.

A screened porch overlooking a cool pool on Von Phister Street in the Casa Marina Area.

From the screened rear porch of a Sanctuary Home on Golf Club Drive.

View from the third floor of a home a home Fleming Street artist who used this space for his studio.

 The swimming pool at this William Street home actually flows under this room.

Grand foyer of a home on Eisenhower Drive.

From the outside looking inside looking back outside at a home on Pinder Lane.

I will close out this little picture show of Key West houses viewing from the inside out. This home on Simonton Street is one of the most picturesque of any of the surviving untouched houses. It is being renovated at this time. If you wonder what is going to happen in Key West once people can return, they will. People want to flee the big cities and escape the boredom of mid-America and travel to our little island out in the middle of the ocean.

True Key West Real Estate Related Stories in the Time of Covid-19 Part Three

I was driving a potential buyer to an appointment one afternoon many years ago when he asked to stop at this house and ask the owner if he or she would sell it. I said that is not how it is done. He insisted so we got out of my car, entered the yard, knocked on the door, and introduced ourselves.

I had a "run-in" with the elderly woman owner a couple years prior when she told me I could not park in the public space in the street. I would see her from time to time sweeping the sidewalk as her house seemed to look as if it might fall down. I was surprised that the woman was so friendly that day - friendly to the extent she did not threaten me with her broom that is. She told us the house was not for sale but then retold her life story over the next forty-five to sixty minutes.  It was fascinating to hear the stories of how the Island of Key West had changed. She later passed away without having a will. Her son later tried to sell the house and reap the forturne he thought he had coming. He died and his widow tried to reap it. The house was priced too high and went through several real estate companies and many refused offers before it was sold.

I took photos of the house and wrote about it in my blog. The house appears much larger than it actually is.

I dug through my old shoe box and found photos I took of the master bedroom where there was a broken chair on one side and a table with a wash basin and slop jar. There was a bathroom adjacent. I really don't think the slop jar was for show.

The house was taken apart and put back together bit by bit.  The city hovered over the renovation making sure every dollar that could be spent was spent. And more.

I will never forget the old lady telling me I could not park my car on a public street. I wonder what she would think about her lifelong home.

The new owners purchased the smaller homes on either side and renovated those as well. They are in the final phase of renovating a large house on the opposite side of the street.

True Key West Real Estate Related Stories in the Time of Covid-19 Part Two

Pardon the blurry image of the Old Town house that I sold the first day on the market in 2003. That happens quite often in Key West so the fact it sold on the first day is not remarkable except for what we found at the back side of the house.

I had been working with the buyer for over a year. He was a medical doctor who made several trips to Key West to look for a house to renovate. We made offers on several properties, all of which were turned down. We were driving to a showing appointment when he spotted a For Sale By Owner sign in the front yard. I stopped the car. We got out and looked at the house from the street. The house appeared vacant. We looked around. I called the phone number and got access via lockbox - something that usually does not happen as most houses here are shown by the listing agent by appointment.

The house was located on one of the best blocks in Old Town. The house across the street was being totally renovated. It was later purchased people who own the talking dog that does television commercials. They later purchased a small house behind it which they renovated and added a large pool. I would guess they have over $6 million invested in the main house and pool addition.

I vaguely remember the house. I think it had been a rental for the past several years. It was in basic good condition, but it would require a thorough renovation to bring it up to the ergerging standards of high priced Key West. My buyer made a full price offer and waived formal inspection. He accepted it as is - with one caveat not written into the offer: verification as to whether there was a body under the house.

There was a headstone located near the back door. Years earlier I worked for a bank in Denver where one of our outside lawyers and purchased a former funeral home for his law office. The basement of that building had been used as the embalming room. There was an adjacent closet which contained three of four urns with unclaimed cremations. The lawyer had to file a lawsuit to dispose of the remains. I did not want my buyer to have to do anything similar to move a body. The owner told us the prior owner operated a monument business in Key West and the headstone was just a sample. Oh, what a relief.

My buyer bought the house, hired a great Key West architect who designed the house the buyer demanded. He hired one of the best builders in town who did an incredible job in restoring and building a new addition and pool.

True Key West Real Estate Related Stories in the Time of Covid-19

Not the Real Protagonist of My Story

DISCLAIMER: If you are offended by references to GAY MEN, Go Away Now!

I bought my house in the Casa Marina Area of Key West in 1995. It had a nice one bedroom apartment at the side which was completely separated from the main house. It had a separate gated entrance and provided total social distancing between me and whoever might live there in the future.  I loved the prospect of having someone pay a part of the cost of ownership of my house.

Shortly after I moved in the tenant I inherited moved away.  I painted the place and made it ready for someone new. Mind you, I was not a Realtor then and did not appreicate the laws of renting. 

I put an ad in the Key West Citizen, our local newspaper.  I quickly got several phone calls and showed the property to potential renters. Then I got a call from a man who asked a lot of questions about the property. He said he was an accountant and was looking for an apartment for a new employee. We set up an time for him to look at the place. The man came with his new employee - a muscular young blond boy that did not look like any accountant I ever envisioned. But the old guy looked as dufuss as any old guy could look and seemed legitimate enough.  I think the young guy said he was from Ohio or someplace like that. I required first, last, and security deposit up front. The old guy paid. End of story. Not quite.

A coupld of months later the young guy called me and asked if it would be okay for his girlfirned to stay for a short time. I asked how long and he said a couple of weeks. Your home is your home, so okay, I said.

A few weeks later I was working in the side yard near his entrance attending to palm trees when the young guy was in the yard wearing very short shorts doing what I will call muscle tricks with another stunning dark haired boy of statuesque build. They were being boys but they were men - of sorts. They were of an age to be men but looked and acted like boys.  All quite complicated. They were quite amazing. Mind you, this was 1996, long before the aesthetic muscle rage took place.

I can't recall exactly what happened next exept to report that I had a roommate who told me the accountant boy was actually a male stiripper at a gay bar on Truman Avenue - except he was not gay. My roommate said he heard the girlfieind scream out atoudn 4:00 AM or so each morning after her BF came home an took out his gay age on her.She was not being raped. She was being pleasured.

I don't recall what happened but the boy accountant and his girlfriend left. I kept the deposit. I had to clean the apartment. And I never got to see that kid perform. My roommate said he saw BF naked in yard. It was monotonous.

I later found out the "accountant" owned the strip bar.  He had to be accustomed to bad boys doing bad things. I guess girls and women love bad boys. So do gay men. Or many of them. Others look and lust and look the other way.

Happy Easter 2020 from Key West

This is a throwback to Key West in 1985.  Does anybody recall the location?

The sign says THE WHITE HOUSE. I took the photo but can't recall for sure where. It is with more pics I took while staying at La Te Da so it may have been near there.

Happy Easter to my Dear Readers

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.