History of the Building

The building was built sometime in the 1930s.

The grapevine has it is that the building was first used as a residence, then as a dental office and then later on it was converted to professional space for a law firm.

A local dentist said that when he first came down to the Keys, the building was one story and that it had eyelit windows on both south and north sides. When a hurricane came through the area, a cable would be threaded through these two windows and then anchored outside the building. This way, the building would be used as a shelter of last resort. For sure, the first floor consists mainly of steel and concrete.

In 1984, Chuck Tittle and his father, who was State Representative for the Florida Keys, poured a concrete slab and built the second floor. The roof, which was made of hard Dade County pine, was left open and a loft type walkway was constructed around what could have been a third floor area. This way, from the second floor, the building ceiling is wide open. The law library was housed on the walk around loft area and is connected to the second floor by a spiral staircase.

From the loft, the Tittles went up a step further and built another staircase to an outside widow’s walk. This is where the family could go to watch the annual parades.

Patricia B. Mull owned this historic building from 2001 until 2022 when Brian and Connie O’Connor, owners of Our Keys Life, LLC purchased it from her. They hope to carry on its legacy in the community and be able to provide small businesses a place to operate for many years to come!