Visiting the Florida Keys and Key West would not be complete without first knowing something about the cultural background. At the turn of the 20th century we were found in the most admirable of positions as the richest in the United States, however by the 30's we had the most people on government relief in the country.

The New Deal's Julius Stone was sent to the Florida Keys to see how we could get back on track economically. Obviously, they didn't want us to go back to wrecking. What he saw was a thin string of beautiful coral islands with no marketable resources, and no room for agriculture or manufacturing.

However, we had our special radiant luminescence, not unlike the south of France and thousands of quaint, wooden, gingerbread houses. So Julius Stone went back to Washington and told President Roosevelt that it would be best for us to be a cultural holiday mecca.

Thanks to that investment, we are a thriving bastion of culture, benefiting artists, business, residents and visitors alike. The Keys have an incredible legacy. We attract the BEST visitors with 50 galleries, literally thousands of restored homes on the National Registry, five theaters, a nationally acclaimed Theater Festival, a major Literary Seminar, WPA murals, a permanent collection of paintings in a pre-civil war museum/fort, more visual, literary and performing artist and galleries per capita than anywhere in the nation.

The Performing, Literary and Visual Arts are vital on many levels: Today our visitors help our ecology and insure our economic future. We are a visitor destination, and one with few other sustainable resources. Because culture is an intellectual resource it is therefore perpetually sustainable, infinitely growable and we attract the most desirable demographic.

The Florida Keys, is riding the cultural gravy train we inherited from the WPA in the 30's and we are investing in the arts on all levels providing optimum atmosphere and experience for our visitors and ourselves. Development without environmental destruction or depletion of natural resources through the arts is our motto.

We have the weather and the culture that the rest of the state brags about, come down, see for yourself, and experience one of the most charming island chains in the world.