In 1886, at the height of Key West’s Cuban cigar manufacturing, a devastating fire roared through the factories and warehouses plus leveled the surrounding buildings. Soon strict ordinances were put in place for new construction. So The Bank of Key West built their new headquarters using red brick and fashioned a balcony similar to those in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Now called the Harbor House, this retail space on Front Street was ravage by another fire 98 years later.
