South end of US highway 1 in Key West, FL
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1938-present
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By 1938 the south end of US 1 was extended to its current terminus in Key West:
Summa, 1978
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Kozak, 1983
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McDonald, 1986 (linked to source)
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(Info about the strange colored shields shown on this page.) This next shot shows a sign that may have been posted shortly before or after the one shown in the preceding photo:
Moraseski, Aug. 2004
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By the time of that photo, that sign was hanging in the restaurant at Disney's Old Key West Hotel. There was yet another style posted at the terminus later on:
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Nasiatka, June 1990
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Florida used those colored US markers from the 1950s to the 1990s. By now they have been almost entirely replaced with standard black-and-white shields. The following photos show more recent versions of signage at the same location:
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Lance, 2000
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Cozart, 2003
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Schecter, 2009
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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2023 (attribution unknown)
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This is easily one of the most well-known and most-photographed US highway endpoints... and based on how often that assembly gets changed, presumably it gets stolen a lot. US 1 comes into Key West heading southwest on Truman Avenue. But at Whitehead Street, the route takes a right turn. So drivers are actually heading northwest when they reach the south end of US 1, which is at the intersection of Fleming Street. That is the location of the Monroe County courthouse, where a version of this sign has been displayed since at least the 1950s:
c. 1954, attribution unknown
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photo by Moraseski in Aug. 2004 (by which time it had been moved to a restaurant at Old Key West Resort)
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from a presumably 1980s postcard
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Karners, summer 2007
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Unlike most locals who live at the endpoints of other US routes, people in Key West have made a pretty big deal about the distinction of their location at the end of US 1:
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Karners, Dec. 2009
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Two blocks before reaching the "End" assembly, one sees the last southbound reassurance marker, shown here:
Cozart, 2003 (unchanged as of 2009)
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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Now we will turn around and head the opposite direction; these photos show the beginning of US 1 northbound from Key West:
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Lance, 2000
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Cozart, 2003
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Those were cool, but this version of that sign may be even better:
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Karners, Dec. 2009
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Two blocks ahead is the first northbound confirming assembly...
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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...although drivers there are actually heading southeast on Whitehead. In three more blocks, US 1 traffic is directed to turn northeast on Truman...
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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...and that intersection actually marks the southernmost point on US 1. (In fact, if one were to continue southeast on Whitehead, they would soon reach the monument at the so-called southernmost point in the 48 states.)
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Historically, continuing north on Truman, a quaint and interesting sign was posted:
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c. 1951, U.S. Navy, Harry S. Truman Library (linked to source)
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That was replaced in the 1960s. This version of the sign was still up in 1990, but it was gone as of December 2001:
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Summa, 1978
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There was a reciprocal sign at the other terminus of US 1 in Ft. Kent, with nearly identical verbiage (see the main US 1 page).
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Research and/or photo credits: Justin Cozart; Karin and Martin Karner; Ed Kozak; Jeremy Lance; Jim Moraseski; J.P. Nasiatka; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; James Schecter; Michael Summa
Page originally created 1999;
last updated Sep. 19, 2023.
last updated Sep. 19, 2023.
