Key West Friday - Aug 27, 2010
Key West, America’s southernmost island, is a city with a glorious past. In the 1820’s Key West’s discoverers called the island, Cayo Hueso, roughly translated as “Island of Bones.” Filled with nineteenth century Greek Revival architecture, counting a naval and military history dating from the 1820’s, an economic history of cigarmaking, fishing, turtling, and shrimping (the discovery of pink gold), and a tradition of tourism begun in the WPA days of Roosevelt, that continued through the presidential visits of Harry S Truman, and lives on today, the frost-free city is America’s foot in the Caribbean.

Key West, the last resort—- infused with culture, history, intriguing characters and a tradition of colorful sunsets. Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, the Conch Republic’s secession and the sunset celebration at Mallory Square are world famous.
From Ernest Hemingway to Zane Grey, from Elizabeth Bishop and Tennessee Williams, from poet Robert Frost to Jose Marti to contemporary writers such as Thomas Sanchez and Annie Dillard, Key West has a magical allure.
A leader in America’s historic preservation movement since the 1960’s, Key West has three National Register Historic Districts, with over 3,000 historic sites, a majestic lighthouse and Civil War forts. Heritage tourism is going strong on the 2 x 4 mile island, the Southernmost City.

Sharon is a Key West historian and historic preservation specialist in since 1976. Please visit http://www.seekeywest.com, http://www.keyweslightgallery.com and http://www.keywest-tiles.com.  She currently has an exhibit of Key West Architecture at the Tropic Cinema.