United Street Curiosities

It was the medical week just before Fay's arrival, what with one thing and another and every afternoon I was in town for the doctor, the dentist, the chiropractor and on and on. I'm not yet of an age where these medical encounters are a routine part of my life. I guess I'd better get used to it. After I got a new crown in my jaw I felt like taking my mind off the nagging irritation of a new piece of porcelain in my face and I could think of nothing better than going for a walk to allow the gluing and chomping of the new fit to wear off. It didn't feel like a $650 tooth but there we are, porcelain costs money.

For the motorcycle deficient among us that is not my Bonneville, it's a Honda cruiser. I wussed out of taking the Triumph to the dentist, not being sure how I'd feel after Doctor Harris had wrestled my jaw, so I drove the Nissan instead. The stranger's Honda provides a little foreground for United street which is where the dentist keeps his office. On a side street I was immediately intrigued by this:

And the outdoor speaker makes me glad I live 25 miles away. The neighbors had quite the garden too, with a particular street marker:What the handle came off I can't imagine, perhaps a shovel designed for an eight foot tall gardener. And meeting this dude every day outside my front door would get old in a hurry for me:On the other hand this haven is entirely irresistible. It came as a surprise not find anyone actually enjoying it:On the subject of the irresistibly bizarre I thought this was a piece of Adams Family style advertising. "Seats? We don't need no stinkin' seats!" Conch cruiser par excellence.United Street is a main road leading out of the south end of Duval towards White Street. Its wide and straight and devoid of stop signs so vehicles tend to just whizz along it and I doubt they take the time to check out some of the stuff that lines the street. I was on foot in the baking sun so I had all the time in the world to check out these delightful old Florida storm shutters:And there is the youth hostel as well, which I had heard was to be demolished. Perhaps the imploding economy saved the Seashell Motel:I doubt rooms are still $18 a night but I'll bet its still an excellent deal. This place pulses with young people, hormones and bicycles in winter. I have heard that the imploding economy may have done no good for the Spottswood's grandiose plans for the Beachside Hotel (nee Holiday Inn). Rumor has it they can't afford it and Marriott is taking it over. And bang go their plans for a huge indoor convention center across the street from Beachside. I'm sure it's just a temporary setback, so opponents of development might want to keep their breaths bated.

Returning to the area off United Street I also spotted a cute-as-a-button older looking Conch cottage:Up the street there was a burst of greenery and someone knows how to keep a pristine yard, I was green with envy:Trimmed clipped and neat and a flourishing coconut palm glorious in the sunlight, I mean its not like I don't get to see enough of these trees but this was quite a nice example of the breed:Somebody spends altogether too much time trimming off the dead and half dead fronds off this one. Mine should be so lucky. Oh and this is apparently dentist's row because another tooth fondler has set up shop in the neighborhood. Brick buildings are relatively rare in Key West and when I see one, especially with wrought iron accents they put me in mind of classic Southern architecture.Fair enough this is no court house or other substantial structure but the bricks, the iron and the shutters give it a certain ambiance in a town filled with wooden houses. This one below is more like it, a hot tin roof with a ridiculous cat walk on the top. One could hardly call this a widow's walk could one? No access, no view of the ocean if you could scale it. No captain's wife anxiously scanning the horizon for the return of the husband's ship.
Other homes in the area have their own, lesser embellishments:Poetic license allows for the dreaded satellite receivers- two of them!- as embellishments. And let's not forget the charming order to stay out!I don't know why people disfigure their homes with these signs. Its pretty obvious its a home and if somebody is intent on trespassing a five-and-dime sign isn't going to change their mind. Its just ugly in my view.

The next, totally un-embellished building I came across was a pre-school in the style of a 1960's box:I saw a parking instruction I had trouble understanding based on the fact that the parking area was gravel and had nothing painted on the ground:I guess one gets to figure out one's own angles. As if we don't all the time anyway when we drive our lumbering cars. And not far away a rather more refined take on the same issue:The Jeep had the angle thing all worked out without instructions, and wasn't poking into the street at all. The homeowners' association on the other hand took the time to threaten mayhem and towing in no uncertain terms.

Weird it is what catches my eye. I wonder what the neighbors thought I was photographing?