Key West Houses:
A Picture Gallery

People fall in love with Key West houses as much as they do the island's stunning sunsets and surrounding turquoise seas, and it's not a wonder! In many ways, Key West, Florida is more Caribbean than American, boasting an authentic historic architectural collection that could never be re-created in modern times. No other American destinations display such an awesome array of original Victorian houses and Caribbean cottages, as Old Town Key West. Many of the old wooden Key West buildings stand like art pieces in our modern times – porches preened and gingerbread painted, and then framed with lush tropical landscaping. Standing as tributes to world explorers of the 1800's, when seafaring traders were ship builders-come house builders, the treasure trove of historic Key West houses were crafted without the anchor of blueprints or modern tools.

Pulling from their memories of homes left behind, the first Key West house builders were influenced by New England, Bahamian, African, and Creole designs. The remarkable display of architectural diversity we celebrate today in the Key West neighborhoods was and still is fantastically spontaneous! Old Key West maps show how large ‘Classic Revival' homes with spacious porches sprang up right next door to tiny 3- room ‘cigar makers' cottages. Small ‘Bahama-style' houses with wide outdoor porches and low facades were nestled up to grand romantic Queen Anne mansions with turrets and ginger bread trim. Then the whole diverse collection of these custom structures became neatly delineated as Key West neighborhoods with block after block of white picket fences, garden arbors, and a spectacular variety of tropical foliage.

In present day times, strolling about Old Town Key West neighborhoods is like walking down a ‘collective memory lane' of simpler less complicated times. Most folks can't help but imagine what life must have been like when these well loved houses were first put here. (And, in a few cases the houses actually were ‘put' here. It's hard to believe that a precious few houses were actually built in the Bahamas, then disassembled, shipped to Key West, and then put back together where they now stand!)

For people who love art and architecture, Key West's remarkable collection of houses have made Key West an artistic ‘architourism' destiny. Today we find modern houses added to the mix of splendid historic homes. Some new homes adopt skillfully executed modern interpretations of old Key West houses utilizing popular elements of historic architecture such as oversized porches, gingerbread trim, and shiny tin roofs, plus we now have some contemporary esthetic structures displaying avant-garde designs.

Just as imaginative thought constantly renews the art that is created on the island, Key West houses have been embraced as a high-ticket art-form to be admired and lived in; a financial investment that comes with a serious commitment to piece of historic island charm. In this section of our web site, we invite you to fall in love with the art of Key West houses through these gorgeous photographs created by professional photographer Barry Fitzgerald whose architectural photography of Key West has long been admired by many as the best on the island of Key West. You may also wish to visit Barry's web site at www.barryfitzgerald.com to enjoy the rest of his impressive portfolio.