 | This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations .(March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Pigeon Key Historic District . (Discuss) Proposed since November 2019. |
Pigeon Key, Florida | |
|---|---|
 Partial view of Pigeon Key from the new Seven Mile Bridge. The old bridge crossing the island and exit ramp can be seen. | |
| Coordinates: 24°42′14″N81°09′19″W / 24.7040°N 81.1553°W Coordinates: 24°42′14″N81°09′19″W / 24.7040°N 81.1553°W | |
| Country |  |
| State |  |
| County | Monroe |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Pigeon Key is a historic district located on the small island of Pigeon Key in the lower Florida Keys, United States. The island is named "Cayo Paloma" on many old Spanish charts. It is located off the old Seven Mile Bridge, at approximately mile marker 45, west of Knight's Key, (city of Marathon in the middle Florida Keys) and just east of Moser Channel, which is the deepest section of the seven-mile span.
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from certain types of development considered to be inappropriate.
Pigeon Key is a small island containing the historic district of Pigeon Key, Florida. The 5-acre (2.0-hectare) island is home to 8 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, some of which remain from its earliest incarnation as a work camp for the Florida East Coast Railway. Today these buildings serve a variety of purposes, ranging from housing for educational groups to administrative offices for the non-profit Pigeon Key Foundation. The former Assistant Bridge Tender's House has been converted into a small museum featuring artifacts and images from Pigeon Key's colorful past. It is located off the old Seven Mile Bridge, at approximately mile marker 45, west of Knight's Key, and just east of Moser Channel, which is the deepest section of the 7-mile (11 km) span.
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. At the nearest point, the southern part of Key West is just 90 miles (140 km) from Cuba. The Florida Keys are between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.
Said to be named for large flocks of white-crowned pigeons (Columba leucocephala Linnaeus) which once roosted there. [1] During the building of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad Key West Extension, a major construction depot was located there, the jumping off point for construction of the Seven Mile Bridge. A number of buildings from the Flagler era remain on the island. They are now part of the Pigeon Key Historic District.
The white-crowned pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It inhabits the northern and central Caribbean islands and some places on the North and Central American mainland. John James Audubon painted the pigeons, including the watercolour in his work Birds of America, published in the early 19th century.
Henry Morrison Flagler was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of Miami and Palm Beach, Florida.
The Overseas Railroad was an extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, a city located 128 miles (206 km) beyond the end of the Florida peninsula. Work on the line started in 1905 and it operated from 1912 to 1935, when it was partially destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane.
A rare three-way bridge, now partially abandoned, is located there.
