Off US 1 at mile marker 45, Pigeon Key, Florida. County/parish: Monroe.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places March 16, 1990. NRIS 90000443.
11 contributing buildings. 3 contributing structures.Also known as:
The Pigeon Key Historic District is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on March 16, 1990) located on Pigeon Key in Florida. The district is off U.S. 1 at mile marker 45. It contains 11 historic buildings and 3 structures. Although the old Seven Mile Bridge crosses over the island, 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, it and its exit ramp to the island were closed in 2008 and not reopened until 2022. While the bridge was closed, access was by ferry or private watercraft only, but in 2014 FDOT approved a $77 million plan to restore it. The old bridge was restored and reopened in 2022.
The island is named "Cayo Paloma" on many old Spanish charts.
The island is said to be named for large flocks of white-crowned pigeons (Columba leucocephala Linnaeus) which once roosted there. 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.
A rare three-way bridge, now partially abandoned, is located there.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77843324