PHOTO/320 William St. has gone through many changes.
OIRF House Tours Dec. 27, 28
The Old Island Restoration Foundation kicks off its 55th season of house tours, The Spirit of Key West Past & Present, with tours from 4 to 7 p.m., Dec. 27 and 28.
The tours feature a sector of town settled soon after the 1846 hurricane nearly leveled the nascent port and a property that rose from the ashes of the great 1886 fire.
Tickets are $30 and are available in advance. For credit card purchase, buy tickets online at www.oirf.org or call 305-294-9501. Tickets are also available for purchase by check or cash at Capital Bank, (Old Town & North Roosevelt Branches in Key West; MM30.4, Big Pine; 2348 Overseas Highway, Marathon); Royal Furniture (3326 N. Roosevelt Blvd.), and the Oldest House (322 Duval St.). During tour hours, tickets will be sold at the featured houses – cash or check only.
Tour takers may split their visits over two days and see the homes in any order.
The featured homes are:
523 Eaton St. & Simonton Court – Victorian houses arose in lots cleared by the great fire, including this luxurious home of a woman born in “The Oldest House.” Pass through this stately “Gay ‘90’s” mansion and proceed back in time to a cigar factory “village” of workers cottages. Now accommodations for tourists, the house, cottages and mews are transformed into a tropical Christmas wonderland.
721 Eaton St. – After the 1846 hurricane scoured the harbor areas, Bahamian seafarers and carpenters built homes just uphill from the shoreline. This fine example of shipwright craftsmanship has been rehabilitated as a single-family residence after years of service as apartments. An historic aura shines through its modern reincarnation.
320 William St. – This old house has gone through many changes in 150 years. Like others that once sheltered large families, it has been converted to apartments. One is home and garden for its proprietor and local journalist, Barbara Bowers.
730 Eaton St. – Among those hardy Bahamian émigrés, a few carried their homes with them. This grand dame has stood strong since her legendary arrival in 1847. She has endured a series of needed “facelifts” since the 1960s that have her looking her best. But the old mahogany “bones” transported from Green Turtle Cay clearly remain.
600 Elizabeth St. – “Casa Sapodilla” has been a perennial winner in the holiday lights competition. Surprises abound inside this tropical colonial package….which, despite its traditional appearance and towering trees, was built in 1996. You may even find owner/artist Fran Decker, cheerfully creating in her studio.
Other OIRF events are: January House Tour: 4- 8 p.m., Jan. 16, 17; February House Tour: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Feb. 13, 14; March House Tour: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., March 13, 14; Conch Shell Blowing Contest, Noon, Saturday, March 7.
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