This is the southern-most city in the continental United States (Cuba is 90 miles off its bow; the Tropic of Cancer is half that). Its history can be traced to the Spanish sailors who, for no currently known reason, called it "the island of bones." It can be traced to pirates and "wreckers" who preyed upon foundering merchant ships and for a while made this the richest city in America. And more recently, it can be traced to the spirited Conchs (pronounced "konks") who in 1982 fired a cannon, declared their independence, then immediately asked President Reagan for $1 billion in foreign aid. The President politely turned down their request.
For the hurried or inexperienced, Key West can be little more than the Holiday Inn and a stroll down Duval Street. But those who bite that bait miss the real Conchville. The Gardens Hotel is a shade-drenched treasure on Angela Street, off Duval. Dating to the 1870s, the estate was bought 65 years ago by Peggy Mills, who bought neighboring tracts as they came available and eventually had more than one-third of a city block in the historic Old Town district. Mills planted orchids, bougainvillea's and crotons; pony tails, gumbo-limbos and black bamboo - dozens of species in a fertile patch that became her life's passion. Mills used century-old red bricks to build walks, added fountains and brought tinajones and 2,000- pound earthen cisterns.
|
|
