W orld War II brought prosperity back to Key West. Population more than doubled between 1940 and 1960. Nation-wide military base closings and personnel reductions beginning in the 1960s were major contributors to the City's second major cycle of population decline. After recording the highest number of residents in its history in 1960, Key West experienced over a 25 percent loss in population by 1980. The 1990 Census showed a slight increase.
T there are large numbers of buildings in the community that are near or over a century old.
Generally, the structures date from 1886 to 1912, but they represent the building tradition of Key West from 1838. A small but striking characteristic is the wooden balustrade and other ornamental trim present around the porches. The neighborhoods in which these buildings are located have their own distinctive features. These include a grid street pattern, buildings set close to each other and to the street, a diverse mix of building sizes and heights, fences of wood picket or wrought iron or low masonry walls, and dozens of alleys or lanes, with their own cluster of dwellings, entering the local street system at irregular intervals.