Thursday, February 28, 2013

ON THIS DAY IN:

1935 The Key West Art Gallery opened in the Carolina Lowe house on Duval Street.

1953 The Islander, Monroe County's first modern drive-in theater, opened for business on Stock Island. It had the largest screen in the state of Florida. The featured film was "The Cimarron Kid," starring Audie Murphy and Yvette Duguay. The theater had space for 600 cars with about 2,000 patrons.

1963 Rear Adm. R.Y. McElroy, commander of Key West Forces, was presented the Legion of Merit for his meritorious performance of duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1964 Arthur Godfrey, TV and radio star, was a guest of John and Mary Spottswood.

1983 St. Mary Immaculate High School was threatened with closing unless funds demanded by the archbishop, as a show of good faith by the community, could be raised.

1995 The secretary of defense announced that the Naval Air Station would be changed to a Naval Air Facility and would lose 19 military personnel and one civilian employee.

1996 The Key West High School baseball team was rated No. 1 in the country by USA Today.

1998 The Key West Citizen purchased the Internet business of Atlantic Data Log Inc.