The Barnetts Chapel

Keys History: Origins of the Tavernier name didn’t necessarily involve a thirsty sailor

There is no shortage of stories told about the Florida Keys. One Upper Keys favorite that has been passed from barstool to barstool for...

Key West Back in the Day: ‘The Last Mango‘ cruise — what could possibly...

Carl Hiaasen is best known as a superb satirical writer, and for years I thought he also made great paella. But apparently, he wasn't...

Keys History: Capone and the cronies’ ties to the Florida Keys

It was the late 1920s when an open-air roadster rambled away from Miami, through Homestead and over the Card Sound Bridge. Two men occupied...

Learn the mysteries of the USS Maine explosion at Aug. 13 ‘Happy Hour with...

The Key West Art & Historical Society will present the next installment of its lecture series, Happy Hour with the Historian, on Thursday, Aug....

KEY WEST BACK IN THE DAY: MISADVENTURES WITH MICHAEL WHALTON

Working with Michael Whalton was never boring.  He was one of those incomparable people whose efforts in the 1980s left a lasting imprint — who...

KEY WEST BACK IN THE DAY: EVERYONE (STILL) GOES TO FAUSTO’S

When Jimmy Buffett wrote, “I’m goin’ down to Fausto’s/get some chocolate milk” in his 1976 classic “My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, and I...

ONE OF FLORIDA KEYS’ MOST FAMED ATTRACTIONS TURNS 50

Fifty years ago, as America celebrated its bicentennial, Robert Reckwerdt leased a Lower Matecumbe Key marina from Ruth and Buck Starck. The Starcks had...

KEY WEST BACK IN THE DAY: ‘MY’ TRUCK VS. THE OLD 7-MILE BRIDGE

During Key West’s “bad old days,” the scariest thing I ever did was drive a malfunctioning Toyota truck across the old Seven Mile Bridge...

KEYS WOMAN: MAY JOHNSON’S DIARY

By Nancy Klingener and Breana Sowers From January 2020 through February 2021, as the Florida Keys and the world were navigating the ever-changing and frequently...

KEY WEST BACK IN THE DAY: SHRIMP BOATS, ‘DOG TAGS’ & HALF SHELL HARMONY

Before Key West earned its reputation as a must-visit tourism destination, there was a waterfront bar and restaurant that locals made their own —...