A Visit To Duval Street
I visited Key West and its famous Duval Street about 20 years ago while in the middle of a stolid, conservative legal career. I walked the length of Duval Street, visited some of its bars, restaurants, and other tourist attractions, and relaxed at the beach. I watched the motorcycles available for rent throughout the Key and, of course, watched people. It was liberating It was a much more free, more open, place, even with all the tourists, than anything I had known. The southernmost part of the United States with its distance from the mainland, Key West is a natural home for nonconformists, artists, and different ways of life from the life on the mainland.
Laura Albrittion's and Jerry Wilkinson's photographic history "Key West's Duval Street" (2017) reminded me of how much I enjoyed Key West during my brief visit. The book offers a tour of Duval Street and its changing fortunes beginning in the early 19th Century. I learned about the Duval Street I had seen and the Duval Street well before my time.
In the 19th century, Key West was the most populous city in Florida but had few tourists. The book shows some of the homes and structures from Key West's earliest days, many of which are still standing. Due to its location, Key West has always been at risk from the weather, including hurricanes and fires. This book documents the many natural disasters that have hit Key West, including the Great Fire of 1886. Key Westers have shown great resilience in rebuilding their community.
In 1912 a railroad connected Key West to the Florida mainland. The railroad, which was converted into a highway in the mid-1930's allowed the influx of tourists. Over the years, Key West has been a combination of local businesses and industry, including the cigar-making industry, the U.S. military which maintained a large presence during both World Wars, and tourism. The book shows how Duval Street was composed of many elements, not simply the tourism for which it is known today.
The book also shows Duval Street's changes in economic fortunes, as well as changes from the vagaries of nature, and how it has been frequently reinvented following catastrophe. With the end of WW I, and the decrease in military presence, Prohibition, and the Depression, Duval Street fell upon hard times during the 1930s and Key West itself went bankrupt. With effort and with Federal and State assistance, Duval Street was rebuilt with an emphasis on tourism. With WW II the military again returned to Duval Street resulting in great prosperity. But with the end of the War and the rise of suburbia Duval Street became tawdry and neglected in the late 1960s. Again,with a renewed focus on tourism, the local population reinvented Duval Street.
I enjoyed learning about Key West's many changes in fortune and about the many people who have visited or lived in Key West over the years from presidents to poets. Regardless of changes in other respects, Duval Street has always been famous for its many bars, featured in this book, including Sloppy Joe's. This bar assumed iconic status on Duval Street from the late 1930s and will always be associated with Ernest Hemingway. The book shows the joys of the pub on Duval Street while also emphasizing the many parades, pageants, and festivals that continue to enliven and to bring joy and eccentricity to the area.
In reading this book, I remembered how my visit to Duval Street years ago had given me a different perspective on myself. I would love to see Duval Street again. Arcadia Publishing kindly sent me a review copy of this book.
