Filed at January 16, 2009 under On the Water and Boating and Florida Keys and Lower Keys and Key West by Keys
Jan. 19-23, 2009: with nearly 300 racing yachts competing in this international regatta
(visit www.premiere-racing.com)
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Filed at January 13, 2009 under Florida Keys and Upper Keys and Islamorada by Keys
The annual Art Under the Oaks features arts and crafts in many media and live music on Jan. 17. The show is at the San Pedro Church, Mile Marker 89.5. Food will be available. Admission is free. For details, call 305-853-0651 on Plantation Key in Islamorada. For information about the Keys, call 800-FLA-KEYS (352-5397) ext. 2 or visit www.fla-keys.com.
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Filed at January 12, 2009 under On the Water and Fishing and Commercial Fishing and Animals and Fish and Florida Keys and Lower Keys and Key West by Keys
The Fourth Annual Florida Keys Seafood Festival, in Key West, presented by the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, celebrates the bounty of the sea on Jan. 17, 2009. The event, at Bayview Park on Virginia Street, is free and will feature seafood caught and cooked by local fishermen. Proceeds benefit the association and student scholarships for children of fishermen. For details, call 305-292-4501.
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Filed at under Florida Keys and Lower Keys and Key West by Keys
24th Annual Key West Craft Show, Jan. 24-25, 2009 a juried show with artisans and crafters displaying their creations on Whitehead and Caroline Streets (call 305-294-1241 or visit www.keywestartcenter.com).
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Filed at January 11, 2009 under Environment and Government and Florida Keys and Middle Keys and Marathon by Keys
As the sun rises over the Florida Keys, employees of WGMX and WFFG travel to their small radio station by boat, passing wading birds, mangroves and even a yellow submarine. ”Welcome to Fantasy Island,” says Morning Mix producer Richard Silva as the boat reaches the shore of 1,100-acre Boot Key, off Marathon in the Florida Keys.
Last April, the city of Marathon hired Waronker & Rosen Inc. to appraise the island. The company valued the island at $3.4 million with bridge access and $1.47 million without it. After the appraisal, the City Council voted to buy the island for $3.4 million and pay for removal of the steel bridge that is the entrance to busy Boot Key Harbor. [That works out to $3,500 an acre...quite a bargain in the Florida Keys were average landlocked, 60' x 100' lots (1/8 acre) range in value from $7,500 to $15,000.]
The island is eerie, like something out of The Twilight Zone: dead cars left on the lone road, a cannon next to an old boat called Run Amuck, rusted, empty trailers, overturned lobster traps, a 300-foot communications tower and a rickety radio station swarmed by 20 abandoned cats. But due to another deteriorating structure, Boot Key the junkyard could become Boot Key the nature preserve.
The Boot Key drawbridge, built in 1960, was closed a year ago for safety reasons by the Florida Department of Transportation, leaving the three private landowners with no vehicle access and the city of Marathon with a legal obligation to compensate them for the loss. Some city officials and environmentalists hope the city’s ”bridge to nowhere” headache — which includes a lawsuit filed against the city last week by one landowner — could ultimately become a green blessing. Read more »
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Filed at January 1, 2009 under Florida Keys and Florida Keys and Upper Keys and Islamorada and Resorts and Vacations by Keys
A New Year’s Eve fire has heavily damaged part of a landmark Florida Keys hotel but there were no reports of injuries. The fire happened at the Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada. The hotel was popular with President George H.W. Bush who visited on bonefishing trips.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Becky Herrin says a caller reported seeing flames burning through the roof of the main lodge building just before 10 p.m. Wednesday and that the fire was under control before midnight. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it apparently started in palm thatching that was attached to the main building.
The resort has nearly 200 guestrooms and was fully occupied. Some rooms during the winter start at around $269 a night. Damage to the hotel is still being assessed. Guests in the main building were relocated to other nearby hotels.
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Filed at under Florida Keys and History by Keys
Railroad Arrives on Key West
On January 22, 1912, the nearly twenty thousand residents of the city of Key West, Florida, located on a small island some 128 miles south of the Florida peninsula, observed the completion of an overseas rail connection to the mainland. The Florida East Coast Railway served the island until 1935, when it was destroyed by a hurricane. It was replaced in 1938 by the Overseas Highway, built on the foundation of the old railroad bed. This system of forty-two bridges, which connects the Florida Keys to the mainland, is one of the longest over-water roads in the world.
Henry Flagler arrived in his private car, “Moultrie.” The Overseas Extension of the Florida East Coast system spanned 127.84 miles from Homestead to Key West. Seventy-five miles were over marsh or water. The longest viaduct of the system, between Knights Key and Bahia Honda Key, covered seven miles. Building the extension from Miami to key West required a labor force of 3-4,000 men and seven years of work. The railroad extension was abandoned after the destructive hurricane of 1935, but was eventually adapted for use as a major highway.
This photo show most of the Key West residents who turned out for this historic event. Click on it to get a better view.
FKEC Born
Born partly of dreams, necessity and visionary genius, the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association, Inc. (FKECA) was certified by the Florida Secretary of State on January 22, 1940 with an office address of the “Marathon Grocery, Marathon, Florida.” It had its first board meeting four days later and John A. Russell of Islamorada was elected chairperson.
First Big Pine Key Land Deed
The first patented land deed was issued January 25, 1882 to William F. Wood. Most folks were homesteaders or squatters. It was first surveyed for the State of Florida on March 21, 1873. Homesteading was allowed all the way up to the late 1920’s. Florida became a state in 1845. Land was given for selling to residents, for building railroads, and homesteading. The state collected just over $2,000 from the sell of the land on Big Pine Key. Today the same land is worth more than one billion dollars.
Key West Incorporated
JANUARY 12, 1828 The City of Key West was incorporated today by the Territorial government of Florida.
Key West Rocked
January 22, 1880 Residents of key West were awakened by aftershocks from the earthquakes that struck the island of Cuba. Aftershocks from the earthquake on Cuba were felt again the following day by Key West residents.
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