September 2008 - The Parklander Magazine

Tennessee Williams became a regular visitor to Key West in 1941, and is said to
have written the first draft of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1947 while staying at the
La Concha Hotel. He bought a house in 1949 and listed Key West as his primary
residence until his death in 1983.
Prior to the Cuban revolution of 1959, there were regular ferry and airplane services
between Key West and Havana. Pan American Airlines was founded in Key West to
fly visitors to Havana in 1926. John F. Kennedy was to use “90 miles from Cuba”
extensively in his speeches against Fidel Castro.
In 1982, the city of Key West briefly declared its “independence” as the Conch
Republic in a protest over a United States Border Patrol blockade which was set up
on U.S. 1 in Florida City in response to the Mariel Boatlift. A seventeen mile
traffic jam ensued while the Border Patrol stopped every car leaving the Keys
supposedly searching for illegal aliens. This paralyzed the Keys, which rely heavily
on the tourism industry. Flags, T-shirts and other merchandise representing the
Conch Republic are still popular souvenirs for visitors to Key West, and the Conch
Republic Independence Celebration—including parades and parties—is celebrated
every April 23.
Modern Key West
The corporate world of the mainland has slowly crept into Key West in the last 10
years. Duval Street has become a complex mix of mainstream designer stores,
battered bars and more head shops per square mile than any other street in America.
Sadly, places like Fast Buck Freddies, which was always a slightly tacky, but
interesting mix of souvenirs and trinkets has sucumbed to the change. Today,
although the name remains the same, it is a distinctly upscale clothing and furniture
store and something is definitely lost in the translation. In spite of this invasion, Key
West has continued to follow a different drummer and you will still see some truly
individual sites on the streets today. Key West, along with the rest of the Florida
Keys, continues to be a haven for artists and those who wish a to find an out of the
way place with a slower pace to spend their vacation time.
Hemingway House
The six or seven-toed
polydactyl cats descended
from Hemingway’s original
pet ‘Snowball’ still live on the grounds
and are cared for at Hemingway House.
the PARKLANDER
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