Key West Changes

A pleasant surprise to boaters after Hurricane Wilma was the creation of a new little island with sugar white beaches off of Boca Grand that apply become know as Wilma Key. Four years later after currents, winds and the shifting of sand Wilma is almost gone
As we approach the end of the year it is always interesting to remember the changes that have occurred on shore as well. Living in Key West you probably have experienced shopping at Ross Dress for Less. The clothing and house wares store comes close to creating the atmosphere of a scavenger hunt. High energy shoppers are compulsed to go several times a week just to check their luck on new arrivals. A few have secret knowledge about what day the truck is coming in. The check out line is always long. Why don’t they get some more checkers anyway? I have some times brought a book to read, but like many people, I often see the line, turn around and walk out. That has got to cost them money, but the prices are great and there is a lot of name brand quality merchandise mixed in which keeps Key West shoppers coming back line or no line. It is hard to remember the more stately JC Penney’s in that location when the Overseas Market opened in 1990.
Continuing down North Roosevelt Blvd to Key Plaza is Kmart, that was previously Zayers and WT Grants. Remember how Kmart filled up with flood water in Wilma until the doors burst open and all the merchandise flowed out to the parking lot? Albertsons used to be J Byron’s. I always loved that clothes store for some reason. The Florida based retailer closed 17 locations including Key West in 1996. The remaining stores were converted to Uptons. Hyde Park Grocery was where the Dollar Tree and Office Max are.
If you came back to Key West after being gone for 20 years and wanted to go out for some fun you would be surprised to see the Home Land Security where the Hukilau was, the Boca Chica Lounge now R and R Diesel, Martha’s and Perry’s boarded up and Memory Lane now only a memory.

Southernmost Point Buoy Painted

It was in the newspaper recently that the Southernmost Point Buoy is going to get repainted. I was kind of curious if they had two and switched them out. I thought I saw one over in the welding yard on Amelia and Simonton St. a while back. It turns out that was probably the temporary buoy that was made during the time the street and side walk where the buoy sits had been cordoned off to be redone. A temporary one was erected several feet away for photo opportunities. What happened to the life size Seward Johnson sculpture of the tourist family taking pictures that used to be at the Southernmost Point? I think I saw them in that same Amelia St. welding yard. Both are gone now.
Any way the buoy that is there is never moved. I am told that the buoy is solid concrete and the only way that it will be moved will be after it is broken up with a sledge hammer and shoveled away. This is probably a good thing. The buoy was erected in 1983 to replace the signs that were constantly being stolen. It costs $4,000 to paint the buoy and it was last done in December 2008. Do you know that as I went around the corner recently there was actually a long line of people waiting to take their pictures in front of the monument? Don't tell them it is not really the southernmost point. The back yards of the homes directly to the East and the Navy base to the west are both further south. Both Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and Ballast Key, a private island are also further south.


Don't they put a Christmas tree up there at Christmas? I cannot remember. I was told that they never decorate it. I happen to know that is wrong. It was once the Easter Bunny. In about 1996 they were re-painting at this time of year. The buoy had been sanded and primed and it became the Easter Bunny before it was a buoy again. And what is wrong with that? If you can believe in the Easter Bunny you can believe that the buoy is the southernmost point. It's all fun.

Bank Becomes T Shirt Shop

The Wachovia Bank building is an architecturally beautiful land mark sitting majestically at the corner of Duval and Front St. Built in 1891 it has weathered hurricanes and dodged fires that periodically engulf other historic Key West buildings. Originally and for years it was Florida First National Bank. Wachovia bought the building in 1992 for $2,520,000. Wachovia closed that branch about the same time it merged with Wells Fargo in 2008 and consolidated its operations on Northside Dr. It took me a while to realize Wachovia had closed it's down town branch (I am not a Wachovia customer) and don't frequent Front and Duval too often, the ground central for cruise ship visitors.

Was I surprised when I did walk past that corner? It is a T shirt shop now! Wow, do things change. It is a decent enough shop and they carry more then just T shirts. There are men's, woman's and children's clothes. Why is it that all the shops on lower Duval carry clothes that look exactly the same, like the gauzy women's dresses and short shorts that say "Key West" across the butt? This must be what sells. When these shoppers get back on board are they all wearing the same dresses, shirts and beach cover ups?

I walked past the mannequin of a woman standing in the door. There were a lot of customers in there; the sales people were busy. I found that the clothing section was divided off from the knick knack section by what was once the teller's counter. In the glassed in office in the back where the bank manager sat now sits the store manager. In the knick knack section behind the shot glasses and key chains is still the bank vault. I wonder what's in it.

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The William Pope Crawl

In our small town of Key West, one street remains the most popular tourist destination on the island. Packed with bars, restaurants and shops, the mile long stretch is a must see for the millions of tourist who continuously stroll down its sun covered sidewalks. Sure, many can say they’ve thrown back Margaritas and beers in some of the most famous bars in the world, but how many can say they know who the street is named after?

That man was William Pope Duval, adventurer, lawyer, cavalry man and former state governor. He was born in 1784, a boy who seemed to get in a lot of trouble ran away from home in Virginia at 14 to the frontier of Kentucky. He carved a successful life and was admitted to the bar when he was only 20. In the following years, he rode as a cavalry officer and served as a congressional representative for Kentucky. In 1822 he became Florida’s first territorial governor, appointed by President James Monroe. At that time Florida had no seat in which he could govern. Until the new capital was constructed in the small Indian town of Tallahassee, Duval governed from a boat docked at St. Marks. He was a popular governor, serving for 12 years and known for his peaceful dealing with the Native Americans.

So the next time you’re throwing back some drinks at Sloppy Joes or doing the Duval crawl, remember William Pope, a man’s name eternalized in down town Key West.

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