The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-04-21

is employed by the Birmingham
News-Age- Herald and published
in that paper April 10, 1888. Mr..
Hughes son, Clyde, who is jun
Tor observer at the local weather
bureau, is responsible for an ex-
cellent set of pictures of Key
West scenes accompanying the
article, Clyde Hughes states. They
include scenes of palm avenues,
Maine Memorial, Lighthouse,
Colored Town Lane, Southern
most Home, Duval street, Boule-
ward, Naval Station, turtle being
unloaded, and two panoramas OF
the city,
BY LAWRENCE E. HUGHES
Sleeping drowsily in the trop-
ical sun, its nights warmed and
tempered by the trade winds,
hundreds of miles farther south
than the Pyramids of Egypt-lies
the forgotten city of Key West.
Forgotten by the multitudes, but
never by the traveller who has
been fortunate enough to have
visioned this four-square miles OF
enchanted paradise.
A century ago it was the rich
est city in the state. AS late as
1900 the tobacco companies en-
ployed 10000 workers. Even the
sponge industry engaged 1000
men. But Tampa lured away the
tobacco factories while Tarpon
Springs enticed the Greek sponge
divers to their own waters. The
burned hulks of the cigar fac
tories and the rotting timbers of
the sponge plant stand today as
a mute monument to the eity's
fat years.
But Key West doesn't care. 1t
is a child born of the sea. literally
speaking. The rich coral soil of
the island itself was built by sea
creatures. The materials for the
beautiful implanted mahogany
and cedar homes, anchored in the
coral rock on mahogany piles and
pegged together with wood in
stead of nails, were salvaged from
the rich cargoes of vessels dashed
on the outlying reefs in times
gone by.
Millions of dollars worth of the
finest merchandise the world had
to offer were washed into her lap
yearly by the treacherous seas.
But it's an i'll wind that blows no
one good. So Key West profited
by their loss, at least until the
lighthouse was built, putting an
end to those disasters.
But even if Key West never
existed, the thrill of the l50-mile
drive over the highway that goes
to sea would be an experience
never to be forgotten. Forsaking
the mainland below Homestead
you head straight out to sea un-
til you reach Key Largo, habitat
of the famous barracuda, ''the III
ger of the sea-.
/ Then across Largo and still an
other bridge to Plantation Key.
Fishing camps, the rendezvous of
sportsmen who know where the
big ones stay, dot the inlets and
sheltered coves along the route.
Should you crave food or desire
/ to spend the night on this glo-
rious trail, there's Mack's place,
the Tavernier, Mabers place. No
Name Lodge and numerous others
where one can eat real green
turtle steak and soup. key craw-
fish, conch chowder, and every
imaginable form Of seafood.
Upper Matecumbe is the next
key. There 400 veterans and
civilians were drowned in the
fearful hurricane of 1888. A beau
tiful monument Of native coral
rock has been erected to their
memory.
Next. 70 Lower Matecumbe and
across 10 Grassy Key. Strange
tropical trees and dense unfa-
miliar vegetation press in on the
road at intervals, then out Of the
jungles again and you skim along
a narrow spit of mari with the
waters of the Atlantic and Gull
tapping at either side. the gsuni
spectre of the hurricane-la dashed
FIagler railroad pilfng rising out
Of the emerald waters.
It's now only II miles along
Grassy Key to Marathon. on the
extremity Of the island Al about
this point the scenery changes
The old concrete arches and steel
bridges Of the abandoned FlagleF
Railroad has been widened 10 20
feet with steel ! beams 70 &C
eommodate the highway. The is
lsnds are now much further apart
than before. some times out oi
sight altogether. The problem oi
fhe nzrr0w steel truss work
bridges We solved By placing
the roadway on top Of the entire
structure On these bridges you
drive SIS feet above the surface oi
the ocean
And such . sight You hayen'i
seen BEAUTIFUL waters. no Fnatteg