Key West
is a city and an island of the same name near the southernmost
tip of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, Florida, United
States. The city encompasses the namesake island, the part
of Stock Island north of US-1 (the Overseas Highway) (east),
Sigsbee Park (north, originally known as Dredgers Key),
Fleming Key (north), and Sunset Key (west, originally known
as Tank Island). Nearby Key Haven (northeast), the part
of Stock Island south of US-1 (east) and Wisteria Island,
better known as Christmas Tree Island (northwest), are in
unincorporated Monroe County. Both Fleming Key and Sigsbee
Park are part of the NAS Key West and are inaccessible by
civilians.
Key West is the county seat of Monroe
County.GR6
Key West is known as the Southernmost
City in the Continental United States. It is also the southern
terminus of U.S. Route 1, State Road A1A and the East Coast
Greenway.
Key West is
129 miles (207 km) southwest (229.9 degrees) of Miami, Florida,(about
160 driving miles) and 106 miles (170 km) north northeast
(21.2 degrees) of Havana, Cuba. Cuba, at its closest point
is 94 statute (82 nautical) miles 188°SE.
Key West is a seaport destination
for many passenger cruise ships. The Key West International
Airport provides airline service. Hotels and guest houses
are available for lodging. Many restaurants offer a choice
of indoor or outdoor dining.
Naval Air Station Key West is an
important year round training site for Naval Aviation due
to the superb weather conditions, which is also a reason
the site was chosen as the Winter White House of Harry S.
Truman.
The central business district primarily
comprises Duval Street, and includes much of the northwest
corner of the island along Whitehead, Simonton, Front, Greene,
Caroline, Eaton Streets and Truman Avenue.
The official town motto is "One
Human Family." The Key West Business Guild claims to
be the nation's first and oldest continuous gay and lesbian
chamber of commerce. Each Saturday the Guild sponsors a
tour of the island's historic gay sites.
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