Chuck’s Sandwich Shop, 537 Duval St., Key West
1898 – Private Robert Hunter, Company H 25th Infantry, died of typhoid in the Army Hospital at the Convent.
1916 – The Memorial Methodist Church at the corner of Duncan and Georgia streets in Key West burned in the early morning hours. It was suspect to be a case of arson, as there had been many recent middle-of-the-night fires started by flaming oil-soaked garbage thrown onto buildings.
1921 – The British oil tanker Cadillac, with a length 550 feet, a draught of 30 feet, and measuring 12,074 tons, became the largest vessel to ever berth in Key West Harbor. Pilot Luther Pinder was praised for safely bringing the vessel through the channel.
1933 – Ernest Hemingway fishing with Captain Joe Russell of Key West caught a Marlin that was 12 feet 8 inches long and weight 468 pounds. They were fishing in Cuban waters.
1942 – The merchant vessel Nicholas Cuneo was sunk 66 miles southwest of Key West by the German submarine U-571.
1947 – The Navy announced it would move its Special Weapons and Devices School from New London to Key West. The school had a staff of six officers and 17 enlisted men and a normal student population of 16 officers and 150 enlisted men.
1953 – Sinclair Oil and Gas Company reported a “showing of oil” from drilling efforts with their 150-foot-tall derrick working at the northern end of Key Largo. The results were yet to be analyzed for commercial viability.
1954 – Chuck’s Sandwich Shop, owner Charles Rosen, and Southard Apartment Hotel, Mrs. Pearl B. Reed manager, were located at the corner of Duval and Southard Streets.
2013 – The owners of La Concha Hotel submitted plans to replace the rooftop bar and observation deck with a glass-enclosed spa.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Chuck’s Sandwich Shop at 537 Duval St. Photo by Lewis McLain. From the DeWolfe and Wood Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.