Travel

Go South, Young Man
And Enjoy Key West

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Enai Zion Synagogue in Key West.

RUTH ROVNER

Special to The Jewish News

T

he marker near the water's
edge is shaped like a ship's
buoy. In bold letters, it
proclaims, SOUTHERN-
MOST POINT, CONTINENTAL
U.S.A., KEY WEST. Probably the
best known landmark in Key West,
it's a favorite spot for taking photos:
proof that visitors traveled literally to
the end of the road — the point
where highway U.S. 1 ends and there
are zero miles further south.
Located 150 miles south of Miami,
Key West is the most well known of
the Florida Keys. With its lush tropi-
cal plants, its history that includes
shipwrecks and buried treasure, its
unique sunset celebrations and any-
thing-goes ambiance, it draws tourists
from all over the U.S. Although it's a
tiny island which is barely four miles
long and one mile wide, with a year-
round population of only 20,000, it
attracts one and a half million visitors
each year.
And they find much to do in exot-
ic Key West. They can stroll up
Duval Street and see Sloppy Joe's bar
where Ernest Hemingway once hung
out or take a guided tour of the
home where the writer lived for 10
years. They can go down to Mallory
Pier to watch the dazzling sunsets
and the varied array of street per-
formers.
They can also sample Key lime
pie, stroll along the beach, rent a bike
or moped or visit the many art gal-
leries in Old Town.
Many visitors start by climbing
aboard a "conch train" for a 90-
minute narrated tour of Key West.

With its open air canvas-canopied
cars and steam engine complete with
whistles and bells, the colorful multi-
car train chugged its way up and
down the streets of Key West, just as
it's been doing since shortly after
World War II. Key West, our guide
told us, has the largest concentration
of wooden historic buildings in the
U.S. We also passed one home con-
structed entirely of coral. And many
with ornate Victorian-style ginger-
bread architecture.
We saw the Key West lighthouse,
with 88 steps to the top, the buoy-
shaped marker and the courthouse
made of Key West limestone.
At the tour's end, we explored col-
orful Duval street on foot, passing
longtime landmarks like Sloppy Joe's,
souvenir shops selling "Conch
Republic" flags and road signs saying
"Mile 0". We also passed Planet
Hollywood, framed by palm trees, as
well as quiet cafes — French, Cuban
and Spanish — a reminder that this
small island city is quite cosmopoli-
tan.
Another highlight was exploration
of Jewish Key West. On United
Street, several blocks away from
Duval but right in the heart of town,
we easily found B'nai Zion
Synagogue, a low-rise building sur-
rounded by palm trees, date trees and
seagrape hedges.
Inside, we met Clara Liszt, the
president of the southernmost con-
gregation in the U.S. who also has
the distinction of being the first
woman president in the congrega-
tion's 110-year history.
Jewish history began in Key West
with a shipwreck, when Joseph
Wolfson, a Russian immigrant, was

a

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