The Southernmost Point Moved a Block North for the Holidays

The Southernmost Point webcam used to show one of two things. Most days it was a long line of visitors waiting beside the concrete buoy. In rough weather it was waves breaking over the seawall. Now it shows cement mixers, construction fencing and crews in yellow vests, as the Key West Citizen described it this fall.

The line is still there. It has moved up the street. If you have family landing for Thanksgiving and someone asks for the buoy photo, you'll be taking them to a stand-in. That stand-in is doing well enough that it has become part of the argument over what the original corner should look like when the fence comes down.

1499 Duval Street, the Understudy

On September 4, 2025, the City of Key West put a temporary buoy at the south end of Duval Street. The City's listing for the Southernmost Buoy gives its address as 1499 Duval Street. It sits in the Duval Street Pocket Park, one block from the original, and it will stay there until the work at South and Whitehead is finished.

The crowds followed it right away. The day after it went up, Miami New Times quoted Mayor Danise "Dee Dee" Henriquez on the replica's pull: "You can come here at eight in the morning…there's already a line. Come here at 11 at night, there's already a line."

Months later the line was still there. In a Key West Citizen commentary, Chris Hamilton described a Saturday afternoon in the pocket park: tourists lined up for photos, kids running around, and a cyclist riding through without anyone minding. He wrote that a city spokeswoman had called the replica even more popular with visitors than the original location, and that some locals on Facebook had said the same thing: "leave it where it is. It works."

Hamilton thinks it works because the pocket park is already a plaza: open space where people on foot share room with each other. That idea is the key to understanding the work going on a block south.

South and Whitehead, Behind the Fence

Two separate projects have been working around the original buoy. According to the Citizen's construction report, the first one, a rebuild of the hurricane-damaged seawall, is substantially complete. It added a new elevated seawall and riprap to protect the corner from wave action and salt spray, and FEMA paid for part of it.

The second is the $4.25 million Southernmost Point roadway and plaza project. Its contractor mobilized September 14. The work runs along South Street from Duval to Whitehead and along Whitehead from South to United. The City Commission's June 4 agenda item recommended awarding the job to Charley Toppino & Sons, Inc. for up to $4,252,177.

The city engineering memo behind that recommendation, dated June 4, 2026, lists what the bid buys. It reads more like an outdoor room than a road job:

• 11 benches
• 3 date palms, plus 25 existing trees to be moved and replanted
• 17 beacon light poles, with the electrical work to run them
• ADA sidewalks and curb ramps, new stormwater drainage, repaving and fresh pavement markings

Most of the money comes from tourism, not property taxes. The Citizen reports that the city accepted up to $1.5 million from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council for improvements near the buoy and along Whitehead to United. The engineering memo moves another $730,193.53 left over from the Southernmost Point Seawall Project to cover a budget shortfall.

The buoy will stay on its corner. At its June 4 meeting, the City Commission confirmed that the original will remain at South and Whitehead once construction is done. It also gets a fresh coat of paint first. The buoy went up in 1983, and after Hurricane Irma damaged it, local artists Henry Del Valle and Danny Acosta repainted it. The Citizen reports it will be repainted again before the public sees it.

Why the Plaza Took So Long to Start

The benches and beacon poles are the end of a five-year argument, and the pocket park helped shape the last stretch of it. Hamilton's commentary traces the history. On April 15, 2021, fifteen residents held the founding meeting of what became the Southernmost Point Community Association. He describes it today as an active group of about 90 owners, renters, part-timers and local businesses.

According to Hamilton, that first group asked for one-way streets, cobblestone, soft lighting, pedestrian priority, 5 mph speeds and "a real plaza" at the corner. He writes that the city designed a plan with the neighborhood, then scaled it back in August 2024. On May 7, the commission voted 7-0 to delay awarding the bid after some nearby property owners asked it to. The item came back on June 4. That is the date on the engineering memo, and the same meeting where the commission confirmed the buoy would stay put.

Hamilton's own view was that the city should bring back the original neighborhood design. His evidence was the replica a block north, drawing steady crowds in a space built for people on foot. The contract that went forward is the version with benches, palms and beacon lighting.

When the Original Comes Back

No date has been set. The contract allows 180 days from mobilization. The Citizen notes that points to completion in early spring, though the city has not given a specific date. At the time of that report, the project was about 5% complete. The City Manager's November report says construction is underway. It tells drivers to expect temporary closures and detours near South, Duval, United and Whitehead streets, with access to homes and businesses kept open.

So the replica will handle the whole holiday season. Guests visiting between now and New Year's will take their photo at 1499 Duval. One more fact for the friend who always has to be right: the buoy has never marked the island's true southernmost point. As the Citizen notes, that spot is farther south, on restricted U.S. Navy property in the Truman Annex.

Thanksgiving Morning Starts at the Fence Line

On Thanksgiving, the busiest morning at this corner comes from runners, not photos. The 4th Annual Southernmost Turkey Trot 5K & 1 Mile Rooster Romp, presented by Mount Sinai Key West, benefits Reef Relief. It starts and finishes at South and Duval on Thursday, November 26.

The City's street closure notice closes South Street between Duval and Whitehead, and Whitehead between South and United, with rolling closures along the course. Those are the same two blocks the plaza contract covers. Setup starts at 5 a.m.

Current prices end at 11:59 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Nov. 19, so sign up the household before then if you're entering. Packet pickup at 1327 Duval is a short walk from the replica buoy. Pick up bibs on Wednesday afternoon, then walk down for the photo while the light is still good.

City offices close Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27, for the holiday. Police, fire and other essential services stay on duty.

From the Buoy to the Harbor Lights

Once the guests have their photo, the rest of the season's big moments move north toward the water and up Truman Avenue. In date order:

1. Sunday, Nov. 22: The Key West Half starts and finishes at Higgs Beach. Atlantic Boulevard between White and Reynolds closes from 5 to 10 a.m.
2. Wednesday, Nov. 25: Key West Holiday Fest begins. The Historic Seaport lights its Fishing Buoy tree and the Harbor Walk of Lights at 6 p.m. at Greene Street Plaza and Lazy Way Lane, then the Lobster Trap tree at Margaret Street Plaza at 7.
3. Friday, Nov. 27: The Black Friday Shopping Extravaganza runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Truman Waterfront Park, 21 E. Quay Road.
4. Saturday, Nov. 28: The Holiday Makers Market runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Studios of Key West, 533 Eaton Street. The 32nd Annual Hog Trot 5K is also that morning, with Front Street closed from Duval to Tifts starting at 5 a.m.
5. Monday, Nov. 30: The City's Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony runs 6 to 8 p.m. at Bayview Park, 1320 Truman Avenue.
6. Dec. 3 to 7: Nutcracker Key West plays the Tennessee Williams Theatre, with local performers joined by 16 dancers from The Tallahassee Ballet.
7. Friday, Dec. 4: Wesley House Family Services hosts its Holiday Village and BeLighted Bike Ride from 5 to 9 p.m. at Coffee Butler Amphitheater. The ride leaves at 8.
8. Saturday, Dec. 5: The Key West Hometown Holiday Parade steps off from Bayview Park at 7 p.m. and travels Truman Avenue and Duval Street.
9. Friday, Dec. 11: The free Annual Holiday Concert & Bazaar runs 5 to 8 p.m. at the Key West Museum of Art & History at the Custom House, 281 Front Street.
10. Saturday, Dec. 12: The Schooner Wharf Annual Key West Lighted Boat Parade starts at 8 p.m. in the Historic Seaport. Get there early to walk the Harbor Walk of Lights first.

Guests who come back in the spring may get a different picture: the original buoy, repainted, on the corner where it has stood since 1983, with benches around it and 17 beacon poles lighting the sidewalk at night.

If the fence at South and Whitehead has you wondering what else is changing around Old Town, the team at Island Welcome Real Estate follows these projects block by block. Ask us anytime. And whenever you're ready, Start Your Island Search with people who know which buoy is getting the photos this season.