Old Post Office and Customshouse

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. 7 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1921.

From the record

“The Custom House and Old Post Office is a historic site located at 281 Front Street, Key West, Florida, United States. On September 20, 1973, it was added to the U.S.”
Wikipedia article Old Post Office and Customshouse (Key West, Florida), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 50 National Register listings published here for Monroe County · listed in 1973 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. Front St., Key West, 33040
When was it listed? September 1973
Category. building
Census division. Key West
Architectural style. Richardsonian Romanesque
Architect. William Alfred Freret
National Register reference number. 73000587 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1921 to 1989

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 68 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Old Post Office and Customshouse, surveyed 1989

Topographic sheet covering Old Post Office and Customshouse, surveyed 1921

Storms near this property

44 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Key West, the town this property stands in, in 44 storm reports between 1993 and 2005: 22 waterspout, 11 funnel cloud, 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2000	Lightning	Key West	1 hurt	Lightning struck a boat just west of Key West. 5 people were knocked out of the boat with one person injured with burns.
June 1998	Tornado (F0)	Key West	$15,000	Funnel cloud moved onshore and lowered resulting in a F0 tornado. The tornado moved along 10th ST between North Roosevelt Ave and Flagler Ave. Tree were toppled...roofs and awnings were damaged...powerlines were downed and a shack was tipped over.
September 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Key West	$500	Tree limbs 8 to 10 inches in diameter felled, along with damage to wood commercial signs in western portions of Old Town Key West, and a city lamp post near Whitehead and Front Streets.
May 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Key West	-	Tree downed at Front Street and 16th Terrace in Key West. 5-inch diameter limbs down on 12th Street in Key West.
May 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Key West	-	Marine reported 4 boats broke anchorages in waters between Christmas Tree Island and Fleming Key and driven ashore. Estimated wind gusts to 50 knots (58 mph).
October 2003	Tornado (F0)	Key West	-	Waterspout moved ashore and crossed Key Haven Road in Key Haven section of Key West. Palm fronds were broken off palm trees, but there was no damage to structures or boats.
May 2001	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed 5 miles southwest of Key West.
May 2001	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed 5 miles southwest of Key West.
August 2001	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	Funnel cloud observed 2 miles north of Key West.
July 2000	Flood	Key West	-	Minor street flooding along streets adnin business in downtown Key West.
August 2000	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed 10 miles west of the Marquesas Keys or about 30 miles west of Key West.
July 1999	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed 5 miles southwest of Key West
May 1999	Tornado (F0)	Key West	-	Waterspout dissipated quickly after moving onshore
May 1999	Waterspout	Key West	-	1/2 mile east of Key West, moved onshore as a tornado
July 1999	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed 1 miles south of Higgs Beach in Key West
June 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	Several waterspouts reported from 5 - 10 miles north of Key West. Reports came from several sources.
June 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	Funnel cloud observed 4 miles north of Key West.
July 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	Three funnel clouds were observed 3 nm north of Key West.
July 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	Observed just north northwest of Key West.
August 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	Funnel cloud observed 5nm southeast of Key West.
July 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed 5nm southeast of Key West.
July 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	Oberved 7-8 nm northwest of Key West.
July 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	Funnel cloud observed just northwest of Key West.
July 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed 5nm north of Key West. Also reported as large waterspout north of Key West at 1330 EST by Monroe County Sheriffs office.
July 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed 7nm northwest of Key West.
June 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	Weather observer sighted waterspout 2nm north of Key West International Airport. Movement was toward the west at 7 MPH.
June 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	Weather observer sighted funnel cloud 5nm northwest of Key West International Airport.
July 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	Waterspout observed several miles southeast of Key West.
July 1997	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	reported by observer ne of keyw. radar indicated storm cell about 12nm nne.
September 1997	Waterspout	Key West	-	two waterspouts observed about 15nm n of keyw.
September 1997	Waterspout	Key West	-	observed 5 to 10 nm southeast of keyw.
January 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Key West	-	Wind gust of 58 mph reported at Key West International Airport.
April 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Key West	-	A wind gust of 58 mph was observed at Weather Service Office, Key West as a line of thunderstorms passed the station.
May 1999	Tornado (F0)	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	no account filed
July 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Funnel Cloud	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	no account filed
August 1998	Waterspout	Key West	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Monroe County

Maps showing this location

7 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

1921 USGS Key West quadrangle1:62500
1943 USGS Key West quadrangle1:25000
1943 USGS Key West quadrangle1:24000 - 2 printings
1962 USGS Key West quadrangle1:24000
1971 USGS Key West quadrangle1:24000 - 2 printings
1983 USGS Key West quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings
1989 USGS Key West quadrangle1:250000

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Key West Station	under 500 feet	1973
Sloppy Joe's Bar	under 500 feet	2006
WESTERN UNION (schooner)	under 500 feet	1984
Little White House	0.2 miles	1974
Dr. Joseph Y. Porter House	0.2 miles	1973
US Naval Station	0.2 miles	1984

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 73000587 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Monroe County	All 50 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.