| Key West Travel Guide - Visitor Information for Key West, FL in the Florida Keys

Casa Antigua

David Dlugitch — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 14:29:51 +0000

Where Hemingway first stayed in Key West, and where he wrote A Farewell to Arms

Casa Antigua-Ernest Hemingway’s first Key West residence

“Casa Antigua” was built in 1919 as “The Trev-Mor Hotel” with the island’s first car dealership, “Trev-Mor Ford,” on the first floor.

In April of 1928, Ernest Hemingway and his wife arrived in Key West, on an ocean-liner, for the very first time. The were expecting to pick up a new Ford he had ordered to drive back up North. The Ford was late in delivery, stranding the Hemingways at the Trev-Mor Hotel seven weeks until the car finally arrived. It was during their stay that Hemingway fell in love with Key West. In fact, he was so inspired that he wrote A Farewell to Arms while staying there.

Thanks to this impromptu stay at The Trev-Mor Hotel, now known as Casa Antigua, Hemingway decided to make Key West his home.

UPDATE: Casa Antigua has sold to new owners and is no longer open for tours.

Location: 314 Simonton Street

Wyland’s Whaling Wall

David Dlugitch — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 14:25:36 +0000

Check out the underwater scene painted by famous marine artist Wyland.

One of the most popular marine artists, Wyland, painted this giant mural.

Marine artists Wyland & Guy Harvey teamed up to repaint the faded Wyland mural on Key West’s Waterfront Brewery overlooking the Historic Seaport – known locally as The Bight.

Wyland has painted many of these murals throughout the world in hopes of raising awareness and appreciation of the ocean.

Location: Foot of William Street (by the Key West Bight)

Southernmost Point Buoy

David Dlugitch — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 14:22:59 +0000

Key West’s most photographed spot marks Key West as the Southernmost Point in the United States.

Key West most photographed spot, the Southernmost Marker.

Key West is the southernmost point in the continental United States.

And a visit to the island almost necessitates recognizing this unique geographical fact.

Every day, hundreds of visitors have their photo taken next to the large painted cement buoy that sits on the corner of Whitehead Street and South Street. Years ago, a beloved island resident named Albert Kee sold seashells by the marker and a statue is planned to be erected in his honor.

For visitors, expect a line of people cued up for their opportunity to take a photo. This is one of the most visited places on the island.

As noted on the marker, a mere 90 miles due south from that point is the island of Cuba.

There is also a plaque mounted on this site which details the history of that area. It reads:

Black residents used the beach immediately west of the Southernmost Point because it was adjacent to their community and they were not allowed to use the “white” beach from Duval Street to Simonton Street. In the summer of 1942 shortly after the start of WWII, the Navy placed a chain link fence around the land so it could no longer be used by civilians. The black population’s only access to the ocean at that point became the foot of Whitehead Street until desegregation in the mid 1960’s. Black fisherman used the area to store boats and clean their catch, which would be strung on a line to be sold to locals and taken home. The shellfish-conchs-were also brought ashore, killed and cleaned. In the mid 1960’s one could still buy “a string of conchs” for only a couple of dollars. Conch shells became a desirable souvenir with the advent of the sight-seeing train in 1958. By the 1970’s Albert Kee and his father, “Yankee” Kee had become fixtures along the route blowing conch horns as the train came by.

Location: Corner of Whitehead Street and South Street

Hours: Always open

Cost: FREE

End of US1 – Mile Marker 0

David Dlugitch — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 14:17:00 +0000

Often-photographed road sign marks the beginning/end of US Highway 1

Just up the road from the Green Parrot, the official end of U.S. 1 is a frequently photographed landmark in Key West.

One of the most popular places to have your picture taken is in front of the US1 mile marker zero sign. Every day, hundreds, if not thousands of visitors, smile for the camera and commemorate visiting the southernmost point of the United States.

Stretching from upper Maine to Key West, US 1, known locally as the Overseas Highway, is a 2,369 interstate that connects most major cities in the eastern U.S.

A photograph here is proof that you have made it to the end of the road, escaped normal life on the mainland, and know the difference between too much work and too much play.

Interesting note: the mile marker zero sign, the green and white sign in the picture, has been trademarked by an aggressive local t-shirt shop owner after an extensive and eye-brow raising million-dollar court battle. Yet another chapter in the sordid history of distasteful t-shirt shops blemishing Duval Street.

Location: Corner of Fleming Street and Whitehead Street.

Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden

David Dlugitch — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 14:12:41 +0000

Lush 8.5 acre garden featuring many species of local plants, flowers, flora, and fauna native to the Florida Keys

Dwarf poinciana at the Key West Botanic Garden

Just a few miles from Old Town Key West is a treasure of nature known as the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden. This is the only frost-free botanical garden in the entire United States.

Started in the 1930s, this 8.5 acre lush garden serves as an educational and interpretive center for native plants and wildlife of the Florida Keys and Caribbean.

Here you can take a self-guided tour and explore a diverse, natural Florida Keys environment filled with plants and trees native to this tropical habitat, including palms, orchids, and numerous flowering plants. The rich diversity of the region’s plants is emphasized and much of the flora and fauna are protected, endangered, or threatened species.

The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden also features a fresh water lake, one of only two in the Florida Keys. This is a popular place for local and migratory birds. Often herons, egrets, and many other water birds will be seen here. Fresh-water turtles are also abundant here.

Two gardens are home to many species of fluttering, colorful butterflies – a delight to be among.

The Garden is publicly owned and operated as a passive, natural resource-based public outdoor recreational site.

Location:

5210 College Road (Stock Island)

Phone:

305-296-1504

Hours:

Open every day, 10am – 4pm (Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and 4th of July)

Cost:

Adults – $10
Seniors and Military – $7
Children 12 & under with adult – FREE
Tours with docent – 1.5 hour tours are available upon request and cost $15 per person or $25 per couple. To reserve a docent tour, call 305-296-1504

For more information, visit their website at www.kwbgs.org.

Pan Am Headquarters

David Dlugitch — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:45:58 +0000

A tiny Key West airline grows to be the largest in the United States. And it all began here.

Pan Am’s original headquarters on the corner of Whitehead Street and Greene Street.

For those aviation buffs out there, visit Kelly’s Bar & Restaurant (started by the actress Kelly McGillis), the original home to Pan Am airlines.

Pan Am, originally named Pan American, was the largest airline in the United States from 1927 to 1991. And it all started in little Key West when the small airline began regular passenger and mail service to Havana, Cuba.

Today the building houses a bar in the shape of an airplane wing. Continuing with the aviation theme, the ceiling fans look like the rotary engines of an aiplane.

No museum or tour. Small case diplays Pan Am artifacts.

Enjoy the in-flight beverages.

Location: 303 Whitehead Street

Key West Cemetery

David Dlugitch — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:35:36 +0000

A century and a half of history. Plus a few only-in-Key-West sites.

Map of Key West’s unique and intriguing cemetery located in the heart of Old Town. (Click on the map to see a larger version)

The Key West City Cemetery was established in 1847 following the disastrous hurricane of October 11, 1846. According to prominent attorney and port inspector Stephen Mallory,

“The effects of the hurricane were terrible. The grave yard of this town on a high sand ridge on the Southern part of the Island was entirely washed away, and the dead were scattered throughout the forest, many of them lodged in trees.”

The hurricane destroyed several burial grounds, including the one referred to by Mallory, necessitating establishment of a new cemetery.

In 1847, the City purchased a 100-lot tract in the center of town for $400. As originally planned, the northwest triangular section featured curvilinear streets still partly in evidence by the burial pattern that resulted in that area. Family plots were delineated in a grid in the central section with the northern public section marked by numbered quadrants. Several years later, the City added 233 lots south of the family plots.

In 1868, a separate Catholic Cemetery measuring 300 feet square was created along Frances Street. The Jewish Cemetery is a small section in the southeast portion of the property.

The Key West Cemetery reflects an era of cemetery reform that occurred throughout the nation. “The Rural Cemetery Movement” began in the 1840’s as America’s cities began establishing large, park-like cemeteries outside their boundaries. These expansive, landscaped cemeteries developed as a response to overcrowded private and churchyard cemeteries and to satisfy the need for culture in America. Cemeteries became peaceful parks for appreciating works of art and enjoying beautifully landscaped grounds.

Varied artistic styles and burial methods were evident in the City Cemetery. Monuments were shipped to the island to mark the graves of the wealthy and prominent. Locally produced grave markers are of brick, cement or tile. Each element on the grave has meaning. Many of the symbols provide insight into a person’s career, family life, participation in the community, and personal sentiments.

For a self guided tour, print out the detailed Key West Cemetery map (opens in a new window)

African Cemetery at Higgs Beach

David Dlugitch — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:27:39 +0000

Learn about the rescue of slaves bound for Cuba in 1860. Many did not survive and were buried here.

Overlooking the south shore and next to the White Street pier is the African Cemetery at Higgs Beach.

Among modern Key West’s greatest characteristics is its inclusiveness. But you may not realize that Key West has historically been an oasis of diversity. During the Civil War, Key West remained in the United States despite Florida having joined the secession. African Americans on the island lived as free men long before it became the law of the land.

Make no mistake of it, though – Key West did have its faults when it came to early race relations, especially when judged from our modern day expectations.

One of the earliest events highlighting the compassion of the island is memorialized at Higgs Beach, adjacent to the West Martello Fort and near the White Street Pier.

Here, you will find a sobering memorial of the astonishing story of the nearly 300 people who died after being rescued from slave ships plying their illegal trade near the island on their way to Cuba.

Next door is the West Martello fort.

Depicted on the surface of the installation is a map of the Atlantic Ocean showing the slave trade routes and locations where the slave ships were captured.

It is well worth visiting this site to remember this sad chapter of our country’s history and reflect on how far we have come as a people.

The State of Florida historical marker at the grave site reads:

State historic marker tells the story of the slaveship that was intercepted and brought into Key West.

“Near this site lie the remains of 294 African men, women and children who died in Key West in 1860. In the summer of that year the U.S. Navy rescued 1,432 Africans from three American-owned ships engaged in the illegal slave trade. Ships bound for Cuba were intercepted by the U.S. Navy, who brought the freed Africans to Key West where they were provided with clothing, shelter and medical treatment. They had spent weeks in unsanitary and inhumane conditions aboard the slave ships. The U.S. steamships Mohawk, Wyandott and Crusader rescued these individuals from the Wildfire, where 507 were rescued; the William, where 513 were rescued; and the Bogota, where 417 survived. In all, 294 Africans succumbed at Key West to various diseases caused by conditions of their confinement. They were buried in unmarked graves on the present day Higgs Beach where West Martello Tower now stands. By August, more than 1,000 survivors left for Liberia, West Africa, a country founded for former American slaves, where the U.S. government supported them for a time. Hundreds died on the ships before reaching Liberia. Thus, the survivors were returned to their native land, Africa, but not to their original homes on that continent.”

Mallory Square

David Dlugitch — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 19:21:19 +0000

Home to the Sunset Celebration, where street performers & artisans set up nightly in view of Key West’s famous sunset

Overlooking the Gulf waters of Key West, Mallory Square hosts the daily Sunset Celebration, since 1984.

Few places in the world offer the sheer brilliance, the majesty, and the peacefulness of Key West when it’s that special time for the sun to disappear below the horizon.

Sunset in Old Town is a time honored happening when hundreds of people gather on the docks of historic Mallory Square. That’s where you’ll see flame tossing jugglers, a Key West sword swallower, tightrope walkers, an exotic trained bird show and “Golden Elvis” and his sidekick, “Silver Man” – all the while being serenaded by assorted minstrels and the “Southernmost Bagpiper”. Immediately next door, over a small footbridge, the acts continue where some of the most intriguing and locally famous acts, such as Dominique and His Flying House Cats, Speed Bump the Pig and Bounce and OOOLaLa.

If you’re hungry, food vendors set up booths offering conch fritters, key limeade and other strictly home-made goodies. You’ll laugh out loud as the legendary “Cookie Lady” promotes her warm delicacies while squawking slogans in perfect rhyme. There is no admission charge to the nightly celebration, but try to arrive thirty minutes prior to sunset to appreciate the full experience.

Below are the Key West sunset times, arranged for the 15th and 30th of each month:

Key West Sunset Times

Month	15th	30th
January	6:00	6:11
February	6:22	6:30
March	7:36	7:43
April	7:49	7:56
May	8:04	8:11
June	8:17	8:20
July	8:18	8:12
August	8:01	7:47
September	7:31	7:15
October	7:00	6:48
November	5:40	5:38
December	5:41	5:49

Flagler Station “Sails to Rails Museum”

David Dlugitch — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 16:21:16 +0000

Train station for the Overseas Railroad, built by Henry Flagler and called the 8th wonder of the world.

Flagler Station – Part of the Overseas Railroad, which was called “The Eighth Wonder of the World”

In 1905 Henry Flagler, one of the wealthiest men in the world, announced his plan to build a railway from Miami to Key West. Some laughed, some scoffed, and most agreed that it could not be done.

Eight years, three hurricanes, thirty million dollars, and hundreds of lives lost, Flagler proved them wrong.

Visit the museum and experience the thrill of riding down the Florida Keys in 1929 aboard the “railway that went to the sea”. Learn about the Key West Extension, and the tragic demise of Flagler’s dream in the devestating Labor Day hurricane of 1935.

Plan to spend at least 30 minutes to see all the exhibits.

Location: Corner of Caroline Street and Margaret Street.

Hours: Open every day, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Cost: $10.75 per adult, $5.38 per child (FREE if you have a ticket stub from the Conch Tour Train or the Old Town Trolley)

| Key West Travel Guide - Visitor Information for Key West, FL in the Florida Keys

Casa Antigua

Things to Do Menu

Where Hemingway first stayed in Key West, and where he wrote A Farewell to Arms

Wyland’s Whaling Wall

Things to Do Menu

Check out the underwater scene painted by famous marine artist Wyland.

Southernmost Point Buoy

Things to Do Menu

Key West’s most photographed spot marks Key West as the Southernmost Point in the United States.

End of US1 – Mile Marker 0

Things to Do Menu

Often-photographed road sign marks the beginning/end of US Highway 1

Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden

Things to Do Menu

Lush 8.5 acre garden featuring many species of local plants, flowers, flora, and fauna native to the Florida Keys

Pan Am Headquarters

Things to Do Menu

A tiny Key West airline grows to be the largest in the United States. And it all began here.

Key West Cemetery

Things to Do Menu

A century and a half of history. Plus a few only-in-Key-West sites.

African Cemetery at Higgs Beach

Things to Do Menu

Learn about the rescue of slaves bound for Cuba in 1860. Many did not survive and were buried here.

Mallory Square

Things to Do Menu

Home to the Sunset Celebration, where street performers & artisans set up nightly in view of Key West’s famous sunset

Key West Sunset Times

Flagler Station “Sails to Rails Museum”

Museums Menu

Train station for the Overseas Railroad, built by Henry Flagler and called the 8th wonder of the world.