Mallory Square has always been the center of Key West’s social and commercial life from the time of the city’s beginning in the early 1820’s. It is where master wrecker Asa Tift’s ships’ laden goods from the shipwrecks would dock and then be stored in his warehouses on the waterfront. It is where the town folk would come to exchange news, gossip and shop. Fast forward a century-and-a-half and you will find that Mallory Square is still the center of Key West with restaurants, shops, theater, museums, live entertainment and the most spectacular sunsets to be found anywhere.
Mallory Square is the location of the "Sunset Celebration", which is considered one of the main tourist attractions of the city. The Sunset Celebration involves hundreds of tourists who arrive each night to view the sunset. The celebration includes arts and crafts exhibitors, street performers, and food carts. It begins two hours before sunset, every day of the year.
Also located in the heart of Mallory Square are the Aquarium and the Waterfront Playhouse which is a not-for-profit, professional theater that attracts locals and tourists alike with a wide range of comedies, dramas, musicals, concerts, and world premieres. A large Keys Military Memorial is located next to the Waterfront Playhouse.
The Key West Historic Memorial Sculpture Garden in Mallory Square contains bronze busts of people who had a major impact in Key West. There is a 20-foot monument titled "The Wreckers" and 39 busts, honoring A. Maitland Adams, John Bartlum, Livingston W. Bethel, Jefferson B. Browne, Sandy Cornish, William Curry, Carlos M. DeCespedes, Nelson Francis de Sales English, Henry M. Flagler, Sister Louis Gabriel, Eduardo Gato, John Geiger, Maria Gutsens, Dr. J. V. Harris, Charles Helberg, Ernest Hemingway, Lena Johnson, William R. Kerr, Elisabeth Merklin Knight Beiglett Smith, John Lowe Jr., Ellen Russell Mallory, Stephen R. Mallory, Judge William Marvin, Bernie C. Papy, Joe Pearlman, Dr. J. Y. Porter, Commodore David W. Porter, Peter Roberts, Capt. Edward "Bra" Saunders, John Watson Simonton, Julius Stone, Norberg Thompson, Asa Forseyth Tift, Charley Toppino, Harry S. Truman, William Whitehead, and Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams, all sculpted by James Mastin.
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