-
Key West Time | Overseas Railroad Click to Play Video... -
Conch Republic
Independence Celebration Click to Play Video... -
NAS Key West Air Spectacular Click to Play Video... -
Ann McKee Artist Fund Click to Play Video... -
Goombay Festival | Bahama Village -
Southernmost Car Club Click to Play Video... -
29th Annual Headdress Ball Click to Play Video... -
Ocean Key Resort and Spa Click to Play Video... -
August: Osage County at the Waterfront Theater in Key West Click to Play Video... -
Key West Poker Run Click to Play Video... -
Key West Food and Wine Festival 2013 – Grand Tasting Click to Play Video... -
Sculpture Key West Click to Play Video... -
Key West Food and Wine Festival 2012 :60 Click to Play Video... -
Fantasy Fest Click to Play Video... -
Hemingway Days Click to Play Video... -
Key West Pride 2012 Click to Play Video... -
Nutcracker 2014 Buy Tickets Now! Click to Play Video... -
Key West Annual Dachshund Walk Click to Play Video... -
Key West Food and Wine Festival 2015 Click to Play Video... -
TheatreXP Click to Play Video... -
Duval Uncorked -
Key West Botanical Garden
Cuban Festival Click to Play Video... -
Key West Pride Parade 2010 Click to Play Video... -
Pirates in Paradise Festival Click to Play Video... -
Key West Food and Wine Festival 2012 :30 Click to Play Video... -
Key West Food & Wine Festival Click to Play Video... -
Bone Island Tri Click to Play Video... -
Key West Food and Wine Festival 2013 Click to Play Video... -
Key West Food and Wine Festival Click to Play Video... -
Marathon Seafood Festival Click to Play Video... -
Kelly McGillis Classic
Flag Football Championship Click to Play Video... -
29th Annual Wesley House
Valentine’s Day Party Click to Play Video... -
Nautica Key West Regatta Click to Play Video... -
Business Guild Mixer
Alexander’s Guesthouse Click to Play Video... -
2010 US1/Conch Country “Worlds Longest Parade” Click to Play Video... -
Battle In The Bay
Dragon Boat Festival Click to Play Video... -
Parrotheads In Paradise Click to Play Video... -
Key West Nutcracker Click to Play Video... -
Cuban-American Heritage Festival Click for More Info... -
Key West Literary Seminar Click for More Info...
Key West Time | Overseas Railroad
PRESS RELEASE
Custom House Exhibit
Celebrates Flagler’s Railroad’s
100th Anniversary
The Key West Art and Historical Society’s Custom House Museum, 281 Front Street, Key West, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the FEC Railway’s arrival to Key West, with a new exhibition entitled, Speedway to Sunshine…the Final Chapter. A member’s reception will be held Sunday, January 22, from 5:30PM to 7:00PM, 100 years to the day of inaugural train’s arrival. Special guest, official FEC Historian, Seth Bramson will be signing his latest work The Greatest Railroad Story Ever Told for KWAHS members.
The new exhibit completes the story of FEC Railway’s Over-Sea Railroad, chronicling Henry Flagler’s dream to connect the Florida Keys to mainland Florida by rail, the effects of the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression on Key West, the deadly Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, and the construction of the Overseas Highway.
Beginning with the railroad’s construction in 1904, visitors will experience the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the men and women who heroically labored through storms, mosquitos, and a harsh subtropical climate to complete an engineering feat comparable to the Panama Canal. This chapter of the story culminates with a scale replica of a FEC Railway car, marking the train’s 1912 arrival to Key West.
“The artifacts and memorabilia in the exhibit will help visitors understand what it was like in Key West one-hundred years ago,” said Claudia Pennington, CEO and executive director of the Key West Art and Historical Society. “It is an exhibit locals should see because the history of the island would be a lot different if the railroad had not been built. What would our lives be like if Flagler’s dream had not become a reality?
As museum visitors exit the Railway car they will enter the reconstructed veranda of the Casa Marina, “the most perfect” of the Flagler System’s hotel collection, journeying to a vibrant Key West during the 1920s. Although Flagler’s unfortunate death in 1913 marked the end of an era for the FEC, its new management vowed to create a monument to their fallen leader. Built to withstand viscous storms, the hotel was a marvel, and redefined the Flagler System’s approach to resort construction.
Archival photographs of the construction, showing the resort’s tapered, steel-reinforced walls demonstrate how such a building could withstand the harshest of hurricanes. Artifacts from the Casa Marina, including vintage furnishings, menus and china, a delicate flapper dress alludes to the artists, writers, actors and actresses, sports stars, musicians, journalists, and dancers who made the 1920s roar in Key West!
The story doesn’t stop there as visitors experience Key West’s unique version of Prohibition. While much of the nation’s authorities rallied behind the temperance movement, Key West was firmly planted in the rum-running industry. Key West was an especially attractive place to smugglers as it was 90 miles from the epicenter of the rum industry – Cuba.
As museum visitors turn the corner they enter the concluding chapter of the story as they are met by an ominous red train lantern hanging solemnly in a darkened room with the distant sounds of the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 bearing down on the Matecumbe Keys. Drawing from personal letters and official records of the event, a description of the storm narrated by local artist David Harrison Wright offers visitors a personal experience of the horrific storm. Archival photographs show the derailed train, knocked off its rail by the storm’s surge, sent to rescue workers and residents. Hundreds of WWI workers, who were completing a section of the Overseas Highway, perished in the storm’s wrath.
Speedway to Sunshine…the Final Chapter is a historically significant exhibit for the local community and the Custom House Museum. This achievement marks not only the creation of a primary permanent exhibit but also tells the complete story of one of the most pivotal eras in the history of the Florida Keys. The rise and fall of Flagler’s dream had an everlasting impact on the history of Key West and the Florida Keys.
The Custom House Museum is open every day from 9:30AM-5:00PM. For more information please visit our website www.kwahs.org or call (305-295-6616).
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
1– 3)Norman Aberle goes through some of the Key West Art & Historical Society’s memorabilia that will be displayed at the Custom House exhibit.
4) A large poster blow up of the lobby interior of the Casa Marina circa 1912.
5) A large poster blow up of the aftermath of the 1935 Hurricane that hit the Middle Keys and destroyed the railroad.
6) A roaring 20s dress and hat that were popular at the time of the railroad’s arrival in Key West.
Initial Airing November 25, 2010
Key West Time | Episode 4
“THE #1 HIT TV SERIES FROM THE FLORIDA KEYS!”
Howard performs “Meet Me In The Keys”, visits Bahia Honda & Grills Mahi Mahi at the Sunset Grill while celebrating the 100th anniversary of Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad.
- Key West Time | Overseas Railroad
- FL
![](https://www.conchtv.com/wp-content/themes/default/images/btnAddBusiness.png)
More Information
- Advertise Key West Weddings Services Online
- Advertise on Conch TV and Conch Radio
- Best Key West Florida Hotels
- Coconut Cam
- Conch Cam
- Conch Color TV
- Conch Republic Giveaway
- Conch Republic Media Group
Promotes Key West and Florida Keys Businesses - Conch Republic Media Group | press release 03-26-2011
- Conch Republic Media Group Wins Accolade Competition
- Conch Republic Radio
- Conch Republic Television
- Find The Perfect Key West Resorts For Your Vacation
- Florida Keys Arts
- Florida Keys Attractions
- Florida Keys Boating. FL Keys Charter Boats
- Florida Keys Cheap Hotel Prices. Key West Events
- Florida Keys Dining Guide
- Florida Keys Diving
- Florida Keys Eco-Tours. Florida Keys Vacation Packages
- Florida Keys Emergency Medical Services
- Florida Keys Fishing. FL Keys Fishing Vacations
- Florida Keys Hotels. Florida Keys Hotel Guide
- Florida Keys Information. Florida Key Vacation Guide
- Florida Keys Radio
- Florida Keys Wedding Guide. FL Keys Wedding Plans
- Florida Keys Wedding Packages
- Florida Keys Wedding Photographers
- Florida Keys Wedding Photography
- Florida Keys Weddings
- Islamorada Attractions. Islamorada FL Vacation Guide
- Islamorada Dining Guide
- Islamorada Fishing, The Ultimate Fishing Vacation!
- Islamorada Fishing. Islamorada FL Fishing Vacations
- Islamorada FL Information. Flordia Keys Vacations
- Islamorada Florida Keys Vacations
- Islamorada Hotels. Islamorada Fl Hotel Guide
- Islamorada Wedding Guide. Fl Keys Wedding Planning
- Key Largo Attractions
- Key Largo Diving
- Key Largo Fishing
- Key Largo Information
- Key Largo Restaurants
- Key West Advanced Urgent Care
- Key West Arts Information
- Key West Attractions
- Key West Bride
- Key West Cheap Hotels. Key West Hotels
- Key West Churches | Florida Keys Churches
- Key West Diving
- Key West Entertainment
- Key West Events
- Key West Film Festival
- Key West Film Production
- Key West Film Studio
- Key West Fishing
- Key West Fl Charter Fishing. Key West Fishing Vacation
- Key West Florida Bed and Breakfast
- Key West History
- Key West Hotels
- Key West Information
- Key West Music
- Key West News
- Key West Radio
- Key West Restaurants
- Key West Scuba Diving
Vandenberg Wreck Diving - Key West Shopping
- Key West Snorkeling. Key West Diving Trips
- Key West Time | Producers Craig Hollenback and Gail Hollenback
- Key West Transportation
- Key West Travel Guide
- Key West Video
- Key West Videos
- Key West Water Sports
- Key West Wedding Guide
- Key West Wedding Information
- Key West Wedding Photographer
- Key West Wedding Photography
- Key West Wedding Photos
- Key West Wedding Planner
- Key West with Lynda
- Key West, Florida Keys Hotel News
- Lower Keys Diving
- Lower Keys Hotels
- Lower Keys Information
- Marathon Attractions
- Marathon Fishing
- Marathon Hotels
- Marathon Information in The Florida Keys
- Marathon Restaurants
- Market Your Florida Keys Hotels
- New Internet Radio Channel Broadcasts Feel-Good Florida Keys Music
- Parrothead Key West Radio | Key West
- Reach Visitors Planning Florida Keys | Key West Vacations
- Submit Your Own Florida Keys Images and YouTube Videos
- Target People Planning Key West Vacations
- The Conch Republic Newsletter | "The Conch Republic Telegraph"
- Trop Rock Music | Conch Republic Radio | Key West
- Viewer Submissions - Videos
- Wedding Planner Key West
Well its nine degrees here and snowing……DISLIKE. I just watched the latest episode of Key West Time on ConchTV about Flagers railroad and Bahia Honda State Park. JUST LOVED IT. Thanks for the great job !!! I cant wait to get back down there again!!!
Sam in MichiganSam in Michigan