Key West

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Key West
Nickname : The Conch Republic, Southernmost City in the Continental United States
Sunset at Key West
Sunset at Key West
County and state location
Situation maps
Basic data
Foundation : 1828
State : United States
State : Florida
County : Monroe County
Coordinates : 24 ° 34 ′  N , 81 ° 47 ′  W Coordinates: 24 ° 34 ′  N , 81 ° 47 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents : 24,649 (as of 2010)
Population density : 1,600.6 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 19.2 km 2  (approx. 7 mi 2 ) of
which 15.4 km 2  (approx. 6 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 1 m
Postcodes : 33040, 33041, 33045
Area code : +1 305
FIPS : 12-36550
GNIS ID : 0294048
Website : www.keywestcity.com
Mayor : Craig Cates
Key west 2001.JPG
Key West aerial view

Key West is a city and the county seat of Monroe County in the US state of Florida with 24,649 inhabitants (as of 2010). The city is mostly located on the island of the same name at the west end of the Florida Keys . The English name is derived from the Spanish term " Cayo " for small flat islands in the Gulf of Mexico .

geography

The main part of the city is located on the island of Key West, the urban area also includes four other islands. Off the west coast is the small Sunset Key, which can only be reached by boat . In the north, the islands of Sigsbee Park and Fleming Key with two small upstream keys to the north belong to the municipality. Both islands are used by the United States Navy and are connected to the main island by a bridge or a dam. In addition, the northern part of the eastern Stock Island belongs to Key West.

The island of Key West measures 13.64 km², while the entire city has an area of ​​19.2 km².

The city is divided into the following neighborhoods:

Key West Island:

Side islands:

Large parts of Old Town and adjoining districts are combined to form the Key West Historic District.

climate

The climate is tropical and therefore warm all year round. Statistically it rains in the summer months - even if only briefly - on an average of 40% of the days. The average daytime temperatures range from May to October at up to 32 ° C. The coldest months from December to February have average daily temperatures of 24 ° C. In summer, the high humidity in particular means that the perceived temperatures are well above the actual temperature. Key West is located in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane zone and is therefore frequently hit by hurricanes .

Key West, Florida
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
51
 
24
18th
 
 
46
 
24
19th
 
 
43
 
26th
21st
 
 
44
 
28
22nd
 
 
88
 
30th
25th
 
 
129
 
31
26th
 
 
92
 
32
26th
 
 
128
 
32
26th
 
 
149
 
31
26th
 
 
112
 
29
24
 
 
72
 
27
22nd
 
 
51
 
25th
19th
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source:
Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Key West, Florida
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 23.8 24.1 25.9 27.6 29.5 30.9 31.7 31.8 31.1 29.1 26.7 24.5 O 28.1
Min. Temperature (° C) 18.3 18.7 20.6 22.3 24.5 25.8 26.4 26.3 25.8 24.2 21.8 19.3 O 22.9
Precipitation ( mm ) 51.1 45.7 43.4 44.4 87.9 129.3 91.7 127.8 148.6 112.3 72.1 51.3 Σ 1,005.6
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 8.1 8.7 10.0 10.8 11.0 10.5 10.9 9.9 9.0 8.2 7.7 7.6 O 9.4
Rainy days ( d ) 4.5 4.8 3.8 2.8 5.8 9.4 8.3 11.1 12.1 8.3 4.9 4.5 Σ 80.3
Water temperature (° C) 24 23 24 26th 28 28 30th 30th 29 28 26th 25th O 26.8
Humidity ( % ) 78 77 74 73 73 74 72 73 75 76 77 78 O 75
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
23.8
18.3
24.1
18.7
25.9
20.6
27.6
22.3
29.5
24.5
30.9
25.8
31.7
26.4
31.8
26.3
31.1
25.8
29.1
24.2
26.7
21.8
24.5
19.3
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		51.1
45.7
43.4
44.4
87.9
129.3
91.7
127.8
148.6
112.3
72.1
51.3
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source:

history

The southernmost point of the continental United States

Key West came to the United States in 1819 with the Florida Territory. In 1845 the US Army began building Fort Zachary Taylor , which was an important base for the Northern Navy during the Civil War and served as a coastal fortification until 1947. In 1912 Key West was the last and southernmost island to be connected to the Florida East Coast Railway . Even before that, the per capita income from the exploitation of shipwrecks, the trade in sponges and the cigar production was the highest in Florida.

The completion of the railway connection to the mainland via numerous bridges by Henry Morrison Flagler also made Key West an important port for Cuba, which is only 145 km away . The railway line was destroyed by a hurricane in 1935 and never repaired. The Overseas Highway , which ran over 42 bridges and partly over the remaining old railway bridges, was built in its place. In the 1980s, many of the original bridges were replaced with new structures and are now used as hiking trails and piers for fishing.

Hemingway's home

Since Key West can be reached by land, the southernmost point on Key West has since been considered the southernmost point on the mainland of the USA . There is also a landmark marked 90 miles to Cuba (equivalent to 145 km). In 1927, Pan American World Airways was founded in Key West. The first flight on October 19 was a mail transport flight from Key West to Havana , Cuba. Nine days later, the route was introduced as a scheduled flight for passengers. The small shop office can still be visited today. Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West for a few years from 1928. His former home is now the Hemingway Museum at 907 Whitehead Street.

The stock market crash and the withdrawal of cigar production to Tampa led Key West in 1930 into a deep crisis. This was intensified by the fact that in 1935 a number of the railway bridges were destroyed by a hurricane and the reconstruction could only be completed in 1938 as an extension of US Highway No. 1. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the US Navy again increased the flow of money to Key West, which enabled the ruined buildings to be restored. This made the island attractive for tourism, which is still the main source of income today.

On April 23, 1982, the Florida Keys symbolically declared their independence from the USA for a short time due to increased road traffic controls by the US authorities and the Conch Republic was proclaimed . The Florida Keys declared war on the United States, armed with sticks of dry bread. Within 60 seconds, the islanders surrendered unconditionally and asked for $ 1 billion in financial reconstruction aid. The official split had failed, but the control point disappeared.

population

Religions

In Key West there are 44 different churches from 16 different denominations , of which the Baptists are most strongly represented with 7 churches. There are also ten churches that do not belong to any denomination (as of 2004).

Demographic data

According to the 2010 census, the then 24,649 inhabitants were distributed over 14,107 households. The population density was 1600.6 inh / km². 83.8% of the population identified themselves as whites , 9.7% as African-Americans , 0.4% as Indians and 1.6% as Asian Americans . 2.4% said they belonged to another ethnic group and 2.1% to several ethnic groups. 21.2% of the population was made up of Hispanics or Latinos .

In 2010 children under the age of 18 lived in 19.9% ​​of all households and people aged 65 or over lived in 22.9% of all households. 47.0% of the households were family households (consisting of married couples with or without offspring or one parent with offspring). The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.80.

16.4% of the population were younger than 20 years old, 31.0% were 20 to 39 years old, 32.3% were 40 to 59 years old, and 20.2% were at least 60 years old. The mean age was 42 years. 55.4% of the population were male and 44.6% were female.

The median annual income was $ 51,385, with 12.6% of the population living below the poverty line.

In 2000, English was the first language of 76.66% of the population, 17.32% spoke Spanish and 6.02% spoke another language.

Attractions

The following properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places :

Other interesting sights

society

Key West has a relatively large proportion of gays and lesbians in the population and is also a popular travel destination for these groups . The Key West Business Guild is the oldest gay and lesbian chamber of commerce in the United States. The city is known for its tolerance and acceptance and has the motto "One Human Family" (for example: one (only) human family) to express the desire to treat all people with respect and dignity . In addition, Key West is home to and attracts many eccentric residents.

crime

The 2010 crime rate was 343 points (US average: 266 points) in the average range. There was one murder, 21 rapes, 63 robberies, 101 bodily harm, 363 break-ins, 1,224 thefts, 122 car thefts and two arson attacks.

traffic

Key West is the western end point of the Overseas Highway ( US 1 / SR A1A / SR 5 ). Miami is 150 miles away.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Personalities who have worked on site

Web links

Commons : Key West, Florida  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files
Commons : Ernest Hemingway House  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Overview of Key West ( Memento of June 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 886 kB) Monroe County website, accessed December 7, 2016
  2. ^ National Weather Service, US Dept of Commerce
  3. ↑ wetterkontor.de
  4. ^ Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 . United States Census Bureau . Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  5. ↑ Language distribution 2000 . Modern Language Association . Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  6. ↑ FLORIDA - Monroe County. National Register of Historic Places , accessed July 28, 2015 .
  7. ↑ http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Key-West-Florida.html