Saturday, July 11, 2009

The aged red-and-white building known as the Hospitality House at Mallory Square sits empty, awaiting structural repairs and a new tenant.

Representatives from the Old Island Restoration Foundation (OIRF) asked the city this week to release the foundation from its lease of the building that has been their office and headquarters for about nine years.

The historic structure was slated to become a museum detailing the history of Mallory docks, and its role in the island's commerce, trade and wrecking industry, but the foundation says it can no longer afford to operate the building.

"The building had a lot of structural problems that became very expensive," said Fran Marchbank, a board member of OIRF, adding that the foundation has shifted its focus to the Oldest House museum on the 300 block of Duval Street, and it continues to fund historic preservation grants to various entities.

Key West officials now will have to find a tenant for the building, or make some repairs while it is unoccupied.

The old wooden building once was a bustling ticket depot -- the starting point for voyages to New York or Galveston aboard steamships operated by the Mallory Steamship Line.

Key West residents and travelers lined up at the building's ticket window in the 1870s, when the structure sat in the middle of Mallory docks. It was a site where women in long, high-necked dresses combated the heat and humidity of Key West as they prepared for long sea journeys to the west or north.

The arrival of the railroad in Key West in 1912 marked the demise of steamships in Key West, and it marked the end of the ticket station, which fell into disrepair until the city bought the dock area for $150,000 in 1952, Marchbank said.

By 1960, OIRF had been formed to rehabilitate the docks and help turn them into a tourist attraction. At that time, the ticket booth was restored and moved to the side of the dock area, where it stands today.

City officials transformed the crumbling docks into a tourism center that became the epicenter for a nightly sunset celebration.

Marilyn Wilbarger, the city's property manager, is expected to begin seeking letters of intent from potential occupants. Wilbarger was out of town and could not be reached for comment Thursday or Friday.

In a memo detailing the lease cancellation, Wilbarger said that OIRF, which paid $1 per year in rent, had completed several necessary repairs, but the building still needs a ramp for handicapped visitors and some other maintenance issues must be addressed.

Once those repairs are made, she recommended that the city find a market-rate tenant for the waterfront building.

mbolen@keysnews.com