Key Biscayne is a world renowned island community just off the coast of Metropolitan Miami. The island is literally surrounded with stretches of white sandy beaches and offers a slew of activities for everyone to enjoy. Whether it’s a day at the beach or a day on the water, Key Biscayne offers a plethera of outdoor fun.
The island is home to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. It’s famous lighthouse, built in 1825, happens to be the oldest structure in South Florida. The white brick tower has been through Seminole Wars and fires that burnt much of it. When the lighthouse was rebuilt in 1855-1856, it ‘grew’ from the original 65-feet to the current height of 95-feet. Today, park rangers offer public tours of the lighthouse and adjoining cottage.
Crandon Park serves as a public beach with stretches of sandy shores … and a barbecue pavilion. Open from 8 am until sunset, the park makes up the northern one third of Key Biscayne and is open 365 days a year.
For boating fiends, Stiltsville Sandbar is just 2 miles offshore and features homes built literally on stilts. In the waters of Biscayne National Park, Stiltsville was constructed during the days of prohibition when gambling was allowed a mile offshore, hence the location of this chain of homes … literally a mile offshore. Clients were taken by ferry to enjoy an evening of gambling and fun. During the 1980’s, aka Miami Vice days, the area was used for sea planes to drop off contraband goods which were then passed along to speedboats. Stiltsville has been the site of many film and photo shoots as well as the home to many wild parties. Today, the homes located here are used as shelter from a rainstorm or simply as a place to have a good time.
Key Biscayne is home to the original Lipton Tennis Tournament, currently known as the Sony Ericsson Tournament. Every Spring, top tennis players from around the world compete for the grand prize in this hard court tournament. The tournament takes place at the Crandon Tennis Center, which during the year is open for public use and budding superstars.
The Miami Seaquarium has been a Miami landmark since 1955, when it was the largest marine-life attraction in the world. The Seaquarium is home to famous stars, including Bebe, a bottlenose dolphin born in 1956. She was featured in a two-page photo spread of Life Magazine, and in the Top Deck Show at the aquarium and was featured in many films and photo shoots. We know her as “Flipper.” From 1963-1967, 88 television episodes and 2 movies were filmed at the Seaquarium starring Flipper who still performs today. Other famous stars include Lolita the Killer Whale (7,000 pounds of beauty and intelligence) and Salty the Sea Lion (featured in the 1967 movie by the same name), performing for Seaquarium audiences still today. Visitors can see Manatees ( a local endangered species) as well as sea turtles, crocodiles and sea turtles and may also swim with the dolphins! Miami Seaquarium teaches visitors to participate in the conservation of wildlife, and was the first place to perform cataract surgery on a sea lion. The Seaquarium offers a summer camp and works closely with the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and the University’s Marine Science department.
A quick drive over the bridge takes you to a world where time stops and you are seemingly “on vacation”. If you are interested in buying or selling property in Key Biscayne please give me a call at (305) 793-1365, or send me a note here. Would you like to stay updated on all of the current South Florida real estate information? Subscribe here to receive my blog posts directly into your inbox.
The Restivo Team … Buying and Selling Miami… Better, Faster, Smarter!
