Key West - Key West

Key West is a US city and island located at the far southern tip of the Florida.

To know

Key West is the southernmost city of the United States continental and the southernmost inhabited island of the chain of 1700 islands called Florida Keys; in fact, the name Key West refers both to the island and to the city that also extends over some nearby islands.

Geographical notes

Key West is located 207 km southwest of You love me (about 258 km by car) and 170 km northwest from Havana, Cuba.

Background

Key West was inhabited in pre-Columbian times by the Calusas, an indigenous culture who built cities and temples and occupied much of western Florida. It was discovered by Ponce De Léon in 1521. Key West's Spanish name is Cayo Hueso which means island of bones. The island is thought to have been uninhabited in 1521 and strewn with bones.[1]

The island was frequented by pirates and fishermen. In 1763 the Great Britain took the Florida and moved the inhabitants to Havana. There Spain resumed the island in 1783 after Treaty of Paris, spurred colonization, but no major cities were built.

Key West once again became a place frequented by Cuban, Spanish, Bahamian, British and American sailors. Officially it belonged to Spain, but no nation exercised the government of the island. In 1815 the Spanish governor of Cuba ceded the island to Juan Pablo Salas, an officer of the Spanish Royal Naval Artillery, stationed in San Agustin (St. Augustine) in Florida (Florida was still a Spanish colony at the time).

Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1819 for $ 5 million and the United States waived any claim on Texas. Salas later sold Key West twice to two different owners. John W. Simonton, an influential businessman managed to secure full ownership. The island's location along the main trade route between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, and the presence of a deep-water port made the island strategically important.

On March 25, 1822, Matthew C. Perry entered the port of Key West with the Shark ship and planted the American flag, claiming the island for the United States. A naval base was established on the island to fight the pirates of the gods Caribbean.

Next to the base was born the city inhabited by Americans and many immigrants from Bahamas. The main industries were fishing, salt production and recovery. The recovery of sunken ships made the city the richest per capita in the United States in 1860 and the largest in Florida.

With the start of the American Civil War in 1860, Florida was the third state to leave the Union (January 10, 1861). However, the island of Key West under the control of the navy remained Northern territory, against the will of the citizens. Fort Zachary Taylor fortress built from 1845 to 1866 was a base against Confederate ships trying to break the embargo. Two towers connected to the fortress, the East and West Martello Towers, were built during the war.

After the war, many Cubans immigrated to Key West where they established a thriving cigar manufacturing industry. It has become an important center for fishing for natural sponges and for fishing and canning of turtle meat. In 1889 Key West was again the largest and wealthiest city in Florida.

In 1912 the island was connected to the mainland by rail. The Overseas Railroad was considered the eighth wonder of the world. It ran until 1935. That year, on September 2, a Force 5 hurricane hit the Keys, severely damaging the railroad. Florida East Coast Railway, builders and owners of the line were unable to rebuild it. It was sold to the state of Florida which used the bridges to build the Overseas Highway) opened in 1938.

How to orient yourself

How to get

It is accessible by road, by plane and by sea.

By plane

Key West International Airport (EYW), 3491 South Roosevelt Blvd., (305) 296-7223, is 10 minutes from the city center. There are flights from various American airports and islands. Direct flights to Key West tend to be very expensive. A cheaper way to get to the island is to fly to Miami International Airport (MIA) and from there take a Keys Shuttle bus, tel. (305) 289-9997, which departs six times a day from the airport, booking 24 hours in advance is required.

By car

Those traveling on their own can take the Overseas Highway. Follow US 1 to the end of the road. It takes about 3 hours from Miami. Once you arrive at your destination, make sure that your accommodation includes a parking space, as it is difficult to find a place for the car.

On boat

Since 1969 Key West has been one of the premier cruise ship destinations in the Caribbean. New ships dock every day, bringing over half a million visitors to the island.

Those arriving from the southwestern part of Florida can take advantage of the daily fast boat service that departs from Ft. Myers and Marco Island. They reach the island in just 3.5 hours, half the time it takes to travel by land. The service is operated by Key West Express[2], tel. (888) 539 2628.

How to get around

Walking around a small island is the easiest way to see it.

By public transport

Key West has an efficient public bus transport system. A ride costs $ 2.00 and a ticket valid for one week $ 8.00. There are 8 lines. Tickets are sold on the bus by the driver and must be paid in cash with the exact change as the driver is not required to give change.

By car

The car is the least suitable way to get around Key West. The island is small and it takes longer to find a parking space than to walk around. After leaving the car there are many possibilities.

With guided tours

• Conch Tour Train, 303 Front Street (at the corner of Mallory Square). $ 29.00 for adults and $ 14.00 for children, there are discounted tickets online. The Conch tour train (indicating both a large shell and the islanders) has been a Key West institution since 1958. The "locomotive" pulls a series of half-open wagons. The full tour takes an hour and a half, making only one stop at Flagler Station, where you can scensder and catch another train later. 
• Old Town Trolley Tour, 303 Front Street (at the corner of Mallory Square). $ 29.00 for adults and $ 14.00 for children. E-ticket can also be purchased online.. Old Town Tram Tour is an old fashioned tram, without the tracks. It stops at the twelve main attractions of the island and you can get off and on at will. 

By bike

Rent one bicycle it is an ecological way to visit the island. Eaton Bikes, tel. (305) 294-8188 offers a wide choice of bicycles for children and adults, they bring the bike to your hotel for free. From A&M Rentals, tel. (305) 896-1921, can be hired scooters is electric cars, as well as bicycles.

What see

• The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, 200 Greene Street, ☎ 1 305 294-2633. In tourist information magazines there are discounted museum tickets.. Mel Fisher is a modern wreck hunter and archaeologist. In the 1970s, she went in search of the Atocha, a Spanish ship full of treasure that sank in 1622 near Key West. He finally found the ship and almost all of the treasure: 24 tons of silver, 125 gold bars, jewels and other valuables as well as personal items and equipment of the time. The museum displays items from the Atocha and other ships discovered by Fisher and his crew. 

• Southernmost Point, at the intersection of Whitehead and South Street. Monument indicating the southernmost point of the continental United States. 
• Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center, 35 East Quay Road (in front of the Zachary Taylor Fortress). Free entry. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm. A center for learning more about the Keys ecosystem both on land and under water. An exhibition of 550 sq.m. which includes a life-size model of Aquarius, the only inhabited laboratory under the sea, and an aquarium with a live coral reef. 
• Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, 1316 Duval Street. adults $ 12.00, children $ 8.50. Open from 9am to 5pm with admission until 4.30pm. Butterfly Breeding Center. There are more than 60 species of butterflies in a garden set up in an air-conditioned greenhouse. The butterflies are released to repopulate natural areas. 
• Key West Acquarium, 1 Whitehead Street. adults $ 12.00, children $ 5.00; there are discounted tickets online.. The Key West Aquarium, built between 1932 and 1934 as part of a government project to encourage tourism, the aquarium displays the marine life of the Keys. At 11am, 1pm, 3pm, and 4.30pm they feed the sharks, which they can get close to touching. 
• Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, At the end of Southard Street. Admission $ 6.00 per car plus $ 0.50 per person, or $ 2.00 per person on foot or by bike.. Open every day from 8:00 to sunset. Zachary Taylor Fortress Historical Park, a historic monument since 1973, the fortress was completed in 1866. It was of strategic importance in the Civil War and the Spanish American War. The park offers guided tours of the fortress and a beautiful beach. 
• Museum of the Sunken Ships of Key West (Key West Shipwreck Museum), 1 Whitehead Street. Admission adults $ 12.00, children $ 5.00. Open from 9:40 am to 5:00 pm every day, last show at 4:40 pm. The museum tells the story of ship salvage in Key West with exhibits and performances by actors. It has a tower with a panoramic view of the island. 

• San Carlos Institute, 516 Duvall Street. Free entry. Open from Friday to Sunday, from 12:00 to 18:00. It was founded in 1871 by Cuban exiles as a civic and patriotic center. Today it is a museum, gallery, theater and school. This is where the movement for the liberation of Cuba from Spanish rule was born. Here José Marti, the greatest Cuban national hero, joins the Cuban exiles for the final phase of the war of independence. 
• Key West Lighthouse Museum (Key West Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters Museum), 938 Whitehead Street. Adults $ 10.00, children $ 5.00. Open every day, except Christmas, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Built in 1847 to replace the one of 1825 destroyed by a hurricane. It is the 15th oldest lighthouse of the United States still existing. It was originally oil-filled, but was electrified in 1927. You can climb the tower from which you can enjoy a bird's-eye view of Key West. The house where the lighthouse attendant lived, from 1886, has been restored and turned into a museum. Barbara Mabrity, a woman in charge of the lighthouse, unusual for the time, took up service there on the death of her husband in 1832. She supplied the lamps with oil for 32 years, until at the age of 82 she was fired for her parents. comments against Union forces, which controlled Key West during the Civil War. He lost 6 children in 1846 when the house and lighthouse were destroyed in the hurricane. 

Famous houses

• John James Audobon House Museum, 205 Whitehead Street. John James Audobon, an American naturalist and artist, visited the island in 1832 and discovered 18 new bird species. The house where he stayed is now a museum with an adjoining botanical garden. There are guides written in Italian for visitors. 
• Ernest Hemingway House Museum, 907 Whitehead Street. Perhaps Key West's most famous resident was Ernest Hemingway. His house is open to visitors. He bought the house in 1931 and lived there for 10 years writing many of his most famous novels including "Death in the Afternoon", "The Snows of Kilimanjaro", "To Have and To Have" which chronicles life in Key West during the great depression, and "For Whom the Bell Tolls". He often went deep-sea fishing with his friends who served as models for the characters in his novels. The house was owned by Hemingway until his death in 1961. It is still inhabited by the descendants of his cats, recognizable by the presence of 6 or 7 toes on their paws, kept perpetually by the foundation of the Hemmingway museum. 
• Little White House (Little White House), 111 Front Street. Linked to US President Harry S. Truman who made it his winter retreat during the presidency. The house was built in 1890 as a residence for the commander and first officer and was owned by the navy base. It was converted into a single house in 1911 before President William Howard Taft's stay the following year. Between 1945 and 1953, President Truman made 11 stays in the house that was nicknamed "Little White House" as it ended up performing the same functions as that of Washington. Many important Truman programs were designed here: the so-called Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the Civil Rights Act. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy stayed in the Little White House. In 1974 the part of the naval base that includes the house was demilitarized. The property has been abandoned for over 12 years. A contractor bought the site and donated the house to the state of Florida, restoring it to the conditions of the 1950s. The house has since been used by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and by Secretary of State Colin Powell for peace negotiations between Armenia is Azerbaijan in 2001. The house can be visited every day and there are guides written in Italian for visitors. 
• Tennessee Williams home, 1431 Duncan Street. Tennessee Williams, an American playwright, bought the only house he ever owned in 1949. But he had already arrived in Key West in 1941, lived in La Concha Hotel at 430 Duvall Street, still an excellent hotel in downtown Key West. A La Concha wrote the original draft for "A Tram Named Desire" (A Streetcar Named Desire) in 1947. Two years later he moved into the modest house where he resided until his death in 1983. The film "The Tattooed Rose", a screen version of a Williams play, was filmed on the island in 1955. He won three Oscar including that to Anna Magnani as best actress. Today the house is still a private home. 

Events and parties

What to do

Being surrounded by the crystal clear water of the Caribbean, Key West is the ideal place for water sports. The beaches public places are South Beach at Southernmost Point (at the end of Duval Street opposite Mallory Square), the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor, Higgs Beach, wide and sandy, at the end of Reynolds Street and Rest Beach at the bottom of White Street which is equipped with a pier for fishermen. There are kayak rental and parasailing, flight with a parachute pulled by a boat, on different beaches. Countless tours of the island depart from the port boats motor or sailing, very beautiful cruises at sunset.

There are many captains who organize jokes of deep sea fishing o Deep Sea Charter Fishing in the waters between Key West and Cuba. To see the dolphins in their natural environment numerous excursions are organized.

There barrier Reef close to the island can be visited with glass-bottomed boats or with excursions for snorkeling or scuba. It is inhabited by multicolored tropical fish and fabulous corals and anemones. There are snorkeling and scuba excursions on the wrecks near the island.

Shopping

• 24.55766-81.804061 Hard Rock Cafe Key West, 313 Duval Street, Key West, FL 33040, ☎ 1-305 293-0230. every day, 9: 30-23: 00. Restaurant of the well-known Hard Rock Cafe chain, with the classic merchandising shop. 

How to have fun

On land, Key West thrills with life, especially in the evening. The ideal start is at Mallory Square at sunset. Musicians and vendors gather here, while people flock to the square to applaud the sunset. Being close to the tropics, sunset is never later than 8.20pm. This leaves a long night for dining and partying, the area with the most restaurants and clubs around Mallory Square and Duval Street. Most of the venues are very informal, reflecting the style of the island. Many venues have live music.

• The Ghosts & Legends of Key West, ☎ 1 305 294-1713. Adults $ 18.00, children $ 10.00. at 19:00 and 21:00 every evening, reservations required. Ghosts and Legends of Key West organizes a walking tour of haunted places. Tell the stories of pirates, voodoo and of course ghosts, in English. It departs from the Porter House Mansion at the intersection of Duval and Caroline Street. 

Night clubs

• Capt. Tony's Saloon, 428 Greene Street, ☎ 1 305 296-2388. It is located where Hemingway's favorite bar used to be. The original venue, Sloppy Joe's, moved in 1937, because the owner raised the rent, and is still at the new address, 201 Duval Street. 
• Aqua Nightclub, 711 Duvall Street, ☎ 1 305 294-0555. Offers a show with transvestites most nights. 

Where to eat

Florida offers numerous typical specialties due to the sub tropical climate and the proximity of the sea. Conch fritters they are a typical fried appetizer, made with a compote of meat of large chopped shells, breadcrumbs and spices. Shrimp boiled and served cold with a spicy sweet and sour sauce (Shrimp with cocktail sauce) are a typical appetizer. Crab Cakes, literally crab cake, are crab balls and flavorings, flattened like a hamburger and cooked in a pan or in the oven. They can be accompanied by various sauces and are served on a plate, not on a sandwich.

As in the entire Gulf of Mexico, rice and bean dishes are characteristic with various types of beans and rice with or without saffron, according to the chef's imagination. Typical second courses are Coconut Shrimp, shrimp breaded with coconut and fried, and fresh fish blackened, that is, blackened or cooked on the grill or fried. The Grouper Sandwich, a fish sandwich and the typical snack.

Florida's most famous dessert is Key Lime Pie, you cannot visit Key West where it was invented in the 19th century without tasting it. It is a tart made with the juice of Florida's endemic green lemons (Key Lime, Citrus aurantifolia) and concentrated milk. Why concentrated milk? Because there was no fresh milk at the time, as there were no pastures for cows on the islands or refrigerators to send milk over long distances.

Moderate prices

• The Cafe, A Mostly Vegetarian Place, 509 Southard St, ☎ 1 305 296-5515. Excellent vegetarian and fish menu. 
• Bad Boy Burrito, 1220 1/2 Simonton St., ☎ 1 305 292-2697. Mexican American cuisine for a quick and spicy lunch. 
• Key Lime-N-More, 424 Greene Street, ☎ 1 305 296-9515. Delicious Key Lime Pie and other imaginative lime-based desserts for a breakfast or snack. 
• El Meson de Pepe, 410 Wall Street, Mallory Square, ☎ 1 305 295-2620, @[email protected]. Family run restaurant serving Cuban cuisine. 

Average prices

• Nine One Five, 915 Duvall Street. Located in a 1905 Victorian house, it offers American and international cuisine. 
• Roof Top Cafe, 308 Front Street, ☎ 1 305 294-2042. It offers outdoor and indoor tables on the first floor overlooking Mallory Square. His Crab Cakes are renowned. 

High prices

• Margaritaville. When in Key West you can't help but listen to the songs of Jimmy Buffet, the American singer-songwriter closest to the island. He has developed a musical style that combines country music with Caribbean influences and enhances the relaxed and nonchalant style of the island. Some of his most famous songs are "Margaritaville", "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere", and "Come Monday". Buffet is also a successful author and the owner of the chain of clubs called Margaritaville, the one in Key West is located at 500 Duvall Street. It offers typical Florida dishes, cocktails and live music. 

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