About this rental
Enjoy an unforgettable stay at a one-of-a-kind ship-builder's home in the heart of Old Town Key West. You will be on a quiet lane in the most desirable neighborhood, just a few short blocks from dining, boating, fishing, galleries, theatre and entertainment. Unique features include open air kitchen and living area; deep pool, wading pool and turtle pond; outdoor bathtub and shower; original art and nautical artifacts; and tropical foliage galore!
Our historical home was awarded the highest honors for Restoration, Renovation and New Construction by the Old Island Restoration Foundation in 2019.
The main floor includes three bedrooms, bathroom, kitchenette with small dining area, indoor living room/den with tv, and floor to ceiling bookcases. Five individual room air conditioners allow climate control to your taste.
This area opens up to the main living area: a one and one half story open-air structure including the main kitchen, dining and living areas, and master bedroom built as a heavy timber structure with a cathedral ceiling consisting of four gable roofs to catch wind and create a Venturi effect for natural cooling. The first floor is open on 3 sides to the tropical garden and pool, wading pool and pond with a limestone water feature. The upstairs contains a master bedroom and a half bath.
There are two outdoor dining areas, one in the garden and the other by the pool. Another bathroom is located at the rear of the property and is an outdoor one with a naturally glorious tropical shower.
A converted old-fashioned clawfoot bathtub serves as a hot tub next to the deep pool. There is a BBQ also next to the pool.
A front porch with a swing and small couch overlook the lane and on and off street parking for 2 cars.
I bought this property in 1996 and spent the next 7 years rebuilding with the help of my sons and their friends. Although with an old wooden house, there is always more to do! Two years ago I was awarded 3 stars for my work from one of Historical Society Foundations. Each of the 3 sections was awarded a star for a different designation. Renovation, Restoration and New Construction. This one-of-a kind home is house is rustic, tropical, historic and truly unique.
Unique Benefits
The home is situated in old town so everything that happens in in town from Fantasy Fest to the Singer-Songwriters Festival, Artisans market, local parks and nightlife is only a few steps away.
The back of the house is open on 3 sides and is usually 10 degrees cooler than out on the street.
Book shelves contain over 3000 books for all ages and interests.
Two water features mask any outside noise.
Why Kids Love It
The small wading pool is ideal for small children. The pond next to the wading pool features goldfish and a friendly turtle.
Area Information
Key West is not like the rest of Florida. Some of us think that it’s not even like anywhere else in the world, which makes us very happy to live here, OR to visit here. Located closer to Cuba than to Miami, the local tourist promotional organization likes to say that Key West is, “Florida’s irreverent southernmost subtropical paradise, a unique confluence of history, climate, natural beauty, cultural diversity, architecture and unabashed romantic appeal.” They are pretty much right.
America's only Caribbean city offers unique and beautiful homes, plant bio-diversity, interesting art galleries, great restaurants, fun bars, small museums, and multiple music venues. If you drive, you will traverse the Florida Keys on Highway U.S. 1, spooling out from mainland Florida, smack dab between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, over 42 bridges. If you fly, you will arrive sooner, especially if you grab (in season) a non-stop flight from Boston, D.C., Charlotte, Chicago or Newark.
Your home-away- from-home is located in the island’s Historic Seaport district. Walk three blocks to visit the docks and dinghies, marvel at the mega-yachts, or arrange a day on the water. We highly recommend a private charter or sunset sail on the elegant catamaran S/V Argo Navis. Walk five blocks to a small public beach at the foot of Simonton Street, adjacent to the Pier House and Hyatt Hotel. Bike or drive a mile or so to a bigger beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, also the home to one of the three Civil War era forts on the island. Book a day-long trip to Fort Jefferson, a fourth Civil War Fort, only accessible by boat or seaplane. Take an architectural tour, a food tour, or a self-guided historic walking tour.
You probably know the names of a few famous writers who lived here: Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost and Jimmy Buffett. Maybe you even know of John Hersey, Alison Lurie or Annie Dillard. Maybe you will be famous too, someday!
Attractions Within Walking Distance
Truman Waterfront Park.
Key West Bight for watersports and Sunsets.
Flagler museum
Butterfly collection (living)
Studios of Key West
Red Barn Theater
Key west Theater
Tropic Cinema
Aquarium
Key west brewery
Pilar’s Rum factory
Dozens of Art Galleries
Green Parrot Bar
Sloppy Joes Bar
Custom’s House
Favorite Places To Eat
Cafe Sole
Pepe’s
Prime
Louie’s Backyard
Martins
915
Manga Manga
Chico’s (Stock Island)
Salute
Inside Scoop
Best Sunset Sailboat
Best beach
Amenities
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Rates
| Rate Period | Nightly | Weekend Night | Weekly | Monthly | Min Stay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 01 - Sep 30 2023 | $200 | $6,000 | 29 nights | ||
Oct 01 - Nov 30 2023 | $400 | $12,000 | 29 nights | ||
Dec 01 - Dec 31 2023 | $419 | $13,000 | 29 nights | ||
Jan 01 - Mar 31 2024 | $516 | $16,000 | 29 nights | ||
Jan 01 - Mar 31 2024 | $550 | $16,000 | 29 nights |
Fees:
Security deposit: $1,500
Tax Rate: .125%
Availability
Last updated on August 02, 2023
Map
Hosted by William Rowan
Member since 2021
Year Purchased: 1996
About the owner: I grew up in Portland Oregon. My ancestors settled in Oregon in 1852 by wagon on the Oregon Trail. After high school I attended the University of Oregon and graduated in the school of Architecture. I practiced in Oregon, California, Hawaii and finally here in Florida.
I arrived in Key West by accident in 1991. I had built a sailboat in Oregon during the 1970s and was planning to take my family to Europe via the Panama Canal. It took us 5 years to get to Columbia... by then my 3 boys were growing up and wanted to go to an American high school, play soccer and have a bicycle. So it was decided to go north via the east coast of Central America. We arrived in Key West and never left. I’m a historic architect here and enjoyed living in this small close knit town. All of my sons have moved away and have wonderful lives, but I've acquired three more adult children after the boys' mother passed away and I remarried a wonderful woman.
Why this property? A BRIEF HISTORY and FUN FACTS about 321 PEACON LANE
1850-1860s The original structure was built c. 1855 and consisted of a one story wood frame dwelling with a detached kitchen. The street was called Grunt Bone lane, and later Peacon Lane. The building’s foundation was constructed with sections of Jamaican Dogwood tree trunks driven into the ground, rather than the more locally typical coral rock piers on grade. Jamaican Dogwood (Piscidia Piscipula) is a durable and pest-resistant species known to have been used by Bahamian boat builders and in their home construction.
1880s and 1890s Tax records from the 1880s indicate that John Peacon owned the property at 321 Peacon Lane and his brother Richard lived across the lane at 320 Peacon Lane They operated a successful grocery and dry good business, including a store and warehouse originally located at on the eastern part of the 321 property, and moved to an adjacent lot in the early 1900s. In the early 1900s the business moved to a three-story structure still standing today at the corner of Fleming and William streets.
During this period of his business expansion, and probably after adding the grocery store and warehouse on the lot, John Peacon enlarged the one-story structure at 321 Peacon Lane into a two-story home, and attached the formerly free-standing kitchen/dining building. At the northeast corner of the two-story structure is a circular barrel-shaped cement footing. It is believed this piece of cement was salvaged from a German ship that sank while carrying cement in barrels to build the Customs House c. 1886.
1920s During this period, a member of the extended Curry family bought the property. Charles Curry married a Cuban woman and they supported a family of 15. The house was in the Curry family for 80 years. During this time, there were several more additions, including a second floor bathroom and bedroom, and a second floor screened sleeping porch, used by six boys.
TODAY When owner/architect William Rowan purchased the property, he redesigned the back of first floor to be open on 3 sides to create a Venturi effect throughout the structure. The second floor bedroom and half bath opens to the first floor with a smaller area which creates the chimney effect. The second floor has 4 gables, each with a window and fixed louvers for catching the wind and completing the removal of warm air.
He designed this structure to complement the historical origins, and espoused “Green Building” before it was popular. Many materials were salvaged, like the heart pine flooring which came from the old Key West Citizen building on Greene Street, and the slate roof tiles which came from the historic Key West Lighthouse.
Photos
Reviews
Martha Williams A.Paradise
This tropical home is stunning. My husband and I spent most of our time in the open air space surrounded by beautiful foliage and flowers when we were not out and about exploring. We floated in the pool, enjoyed watching the gold fishes and turtle in their pond and ate often under the tropical canopy. We loved the location which is on a quiet lane yet close to all the places we enjoy. A bonus is right around the corner, a coffee shop with excellent coffee. The hosts were fun to get to know, gracious and accommodating. We will stay there again!
Stayed: February 2023 Submitted: March 09, 2023
Owner response
It was a delight to have Martha and Richard as our guests. It was wonderful to see them do so much in just a month. Key West is not only an island I but a world onto it’s self.
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