The House

Old Town Charm

The Curry House was built in Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas, shipped to Key West, and assembled in 1889. The house was built for R. Beecham Curry, Sr. (03/24/1875 - 04/01/1943) and his wife Pearl C. Curry (12/27/1878 - 08/16/1974).

Mr. and Mrs. Curry had six children - five boys and one girl. Pearl outlived all of the boys and her husband.

Pearl lived in this house from the time it was built in 1889 until the she died in 1974. She lived to the wonderful age of 95. When she was widowed in 1943, she opened the house up as a rooming house called "Curry's Rooms". One of the original signs hangs over the kitchen door out to the pool area. She rented the four bedrooms on the second floor (Rooms 1 thru 4) to military officer's wives.

Pearl and her husband owned two houses in Key West, this one and also the house now known as the "Calvin Klein" house. After Pearl's departure, both properties were purchased by Bob Redford who did major renovations on the other house which was subsequently sold to Calvin Klein.

The Curry House became one of the first, few guest houses in Key West around 1980, when the gay community began to develop tourism in the area. It was run as a guest house predomiantly for gay men by Bobby Redfern and Dan Staley (now memorialized at the foot of the white street pier). These gentlemen owned and opperated the Curry House for approximately 10 years. They are responsible for the addition to the third floor which made room for Rooms 7 and 8.

The current owners purchased the Curry House in the Spring of 2003, opening it to all people. The Curry House is an "All Welcome" guest house - a term which can be taken literally and means EVERYONE is welcome, regardless of any particular characteristic.

During the years as a guest house, the home was modified to accommodate more guests. The "second stage" was the addition of Rooms 5 and 6, the two rooms on the main floor. The "third stage" was the modification of the third floor to open up space for rooms 7 and 8. This included the addition of the exterior stairway for emergency egress. The "final stage" was the utilization of the remainder of the attic space for Room 9.

Indoors, in it's current configuration, the Curry House consists of nine delightful guest rooms, the parlor, and kitchen. Outdoors, the Curry House has two wrap-around porches (on the first and second floors), four verandas (for Rooms 1, 2, 7, and 8), a breakfast deck, heated pool, and exceptional patio surrounded by tropical vegetation.

There's "Conch Character" everywhere you look

It is also interesting to note that the property on which the Curry House sits was not always as large as it is today. At some point in the "guest house" period of the Curry House, the owners had made an arrangement with the owners of the William Fleming House, next door, to purchase a bit more land. This land was acquired in order to install a pool and hot tub.

Subsequently, the current owners restored the pool area. The old wooden deck was replaced with a beautiful patio, and approximately 80% of the pool, including the pool systems, was replaced. The hot tub was not kept because it could not meet current building and safety codes.

Also during the first year with the new owners, the kitchen was TOTALLY remodeled. Twice the storage capacity was achieved. New appliances were installed, and it all resulted in a very beautiful improvement to the overall appearance and utility of the Curry House.