Today in Key West History - Dec. 18, 1955 - The Ferry from Key West to Havana Completed Testing - a podcast by 43 Keys Media

Now, more than 50 years after Fidel Castro's takeover of Cuba it remains a mysterious forbidden and a foreign place. Few of us can picture a time when Cuba was a friendly neighbor of the United States, and a place for a quick weekend getaway. When Flagler's train reached Key West in 1912, some of the trains were loaded onto 300 foot long barges to continue on to Havana for gambling and exotic rum drinks, especially after Prohibition too hold in 1920. Even up through the late 50's though, a car ferry service ran from Key West with a connection for freight in West Palm Beach.

So, you could just saunter down to Key West and your car drive to Stock Island and catch the ferry, which was operated by the West India Fruit and Steamship Company. The ferry left Key West on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 11am. The SS Havana could accommodate 500 passengers and 125 cars. Arrival in Havana was at 6pm, so the crossing took about seven hours. The fare was $13.50 one way or $26 round trip. Now if you convert that to today's dollars, that's over $200 for the trip.

The ship then left Havana for the trip back to Key West at 10am, so you were back in Key West by 5pm. The ship was air conditioned and it offered snack bars, lounges, a gift shop and small day cabins. As relations with Cuba eroded in 1959, with the trade embargo emerging in 1960, the ferry service ceased and the ships were sold off in 1961.

In recent decades, direct travel between Key West and Havana has been at its lowest point in almost 200 years. Yet with developments in the current political climates, some efforts are being made to reconnect these islands in the stream. One such effort is being led by Stock Island Marina village in Key West. It has the largest deep water marina in the Florida Keys and it's only 100 miles from Havana. The Marine village is investing in new infrastructure and services to accommodate international yachts and cruisers, as they make their way south in the pristine waters of Cuba. And perhaps one day in the not too distant future, We'll see these two islands connected once again.

And it was today, December the 18th 1955, that the West India Fruit and Steamship Company's Key West to Havana ferry completed testing in the Chesapeake Bay. The "City of Havana" was a 472 foot former Navy LSD that was converted to an automobile passenger ferry by the Newport News Dry Dock and Shipbuilding company.

And that's what happened today in Key West history. Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media.

To learn more about our amazing and glorious past here in the Florida Keys or what's currently going on, please visit http://43keys.com.

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