In the island city of Key West, Duval Street is the hub for sightseeing, attractions, cuisine infused with local flavor, cold libations, and shopping! Teeming with activity, live music, bicyclists, pedicabs, and locals with birds on shoulder, this 1.25-mile stretch is also home to epic people-watching.
Not your average street, Duval Street is one of the few places in the world that touches two bodies of water. At its northern end, which is frequented by tourists and cruise ship passengers, Duval Street meets the warm Gulf of Mexico. At the south end, near the Southernmost Point in the Continental U.S., marked by an oversized buoy that attracts photos around the clock, Duval Street spills into the bright blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
This famed street is a beautiful confluence of art and culture, history and heritage, exuberant celebrations, and a dash of debauchery. Hey, these bars jam until 4 a.m. And there are more than 100 bars in 15 blocks, so it’s no wonder the Duval Crawl is nearly as recognizable as the destination.
But by day, the charm of Victorian ‘Conch’ homes and buildings shines. Duval Street proudly shows its cultural ties to the Bahamas and Cuba, both of which influenced its architecture. Vibrant red flowers of native Poinciana trees dust Spanish-style architecture and provide shade to those dining and sipping sidewalk-side likely to the tune of live music.
Although we never need an excuse to party, Duval Street plays host to festivals year-round. These celebrations attract merrymakers worldwide and have names like Conch Republic Days, Hemingway Days, Songwriters Festival, Poker Run, and of course the week-long scantily-costumed extravaganza known as Fantasy Fest.
If Webcams were around nearly a century ago, this one would stream from the same bar it does today. Perched under the Sloppy Joe’s awning, it’d show early American cars rumbling by and post-Prohibition revelers enjoying 15-cent whiskey. Today, revelers spend a bit more on drinks but willfully so since Duval Street is on the bucket lists of many.
Experience. Duval Street. Live.
| Length | Just over 1.25 miles |
|---|---|
| Runs | From the Gulf of Mexico at the north end to the Atlantic Ocean at the south end |
| Time to walk | About 30 minutes without stopping, which nobody manages |
| Named for | William Pope Duval, the first territorial governor of Florida |
| Laid out | 1829 |
| Historic status | Six blocks were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The whole street has been inside the historic district since 1983. |
| Recognition | Named a “Great Street” by the American Planning Association in 2012 |
| Our cameras | 201 Duval Street, at the corner of Greene |
Locals split the street in two. Lower Duval runs from the Gulf to Petronia Street and holds most of the bars, music and crowds. Upper Duval runs from Petronia to the Atlantic and is quieter, with galleries, guesthouses and restaurants. House numbers climb as you walk south, about 100 to a block, which makes addresses easy to find. How the street came to look this way is in our history of Duval Street.
The Gulf end. Duval Street begins at the water, between two waterfront resorts. Mallory Square is a short walk to the west, and every evening its Sunset Celebration draws jugglers, musicians and a crowd to watch the sun go down.
The 200 block. The corner of Duval and Greene is the one on our cameras. Sloppy Joe’s Bar has been at 201 Duval since 1937. Around the corner at 428 Greene Street is Captain Tony’s Saloon, which stands on the site of the original Sloppy Joe’s.
The 300 block. The Oldest House, at 322 Duval, was the home of sea captain Francis Watlington. It is generally dated to 1829 and is now a small museum with a garden behind it.
The 400 block. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church stands at 401 Duval, at the corner of Eaton. Across the street at 430 is the La Concha Hotel, a 1920s landmark and the tallest building on the street. Tennessee Williams is said to have finished A Streetcar Named Desire there in 1947.
The 500 block. The San Carlos Institute, at 516 Duval, was founded by Cuban exiles in 1871 and has been on this site since 1890. José Martí rallied support for Cuban independence here in the 1890s. Today it is a museum, theater and school. Nearby, the facade of the old Strand Theatre, a 1920s movie house, survives at 527 Duval.
The 700 block. Bourbon St. Pub, at 724 Duval, anchors the island’s best-known LGBTQ nightlife block. On New Year’s Eve a drag performer is lowered from its balcony in a giant red high-heeled shoe.
Petronia Street. Turn west here for Bahama Village, the neighborhood settled by Bahamian immigrants in the 1800s.
Truman Avenue. This cross street is U.S. Route 1. Follow it out of town and you are on the Overseas Highway to the mainland.
The 1100 block. La Te Da, at 1125 Duval, occupies La Terraza de Martí, a house built in the 1880s for a cigar manufacturer. Martí is said to have spoken from its balcony.
The 1300 block. The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory is at 1316 Duval.
The 1400 block. The Southernmost House, a Victorian mansion built in 1896, stands at 1400 Duval. A few steps beyond it the street ends at a small beach on the Atlantic.
The Southernmost Point. The painted buoy that marks the southernmost point in the continental United States is one block west of the end of Duval, at Whitehead and South streets. Expect a line for photos.
Whitehead Street runs parallel to Duval, one block west, and several of Key West’s best-known sights are on it or near it.
| Sight | Address |
|---|---|
| Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum | 907 Whitehead Street |
| Key West Lighthouse | 938 Whitehead Street |
| Mile Marker 0, the end of U.S. 1 | Whitehead and Fleming streets |
| Audubon House and Tropical Gardens | 205 Whitehead Street |
| Mel Fisher Maritime Museum | 200 Greene Street |
| Harry S. Truman Little White House | 111 Front Street |
The “Duval Crawl” is the local name for working your way down the street one bar at a time. Nobody keeps an official route. Most people start near the Gulf end, where the bars are closest together, and see how far south they get.
For what is happening on the street this month, see the events calendar. More quick answers are in the FAQ.
