Julius F. Stone

Julius F. Stone. Julius Stone was educated in Ohio and at Harvard University where he received a Ph.D in Organic Chemistry in 1926. From a wealthy family, he became a millionaire in his own right during the 1920s. He lost it all during the crash of 1929. In the 1930’s he became an administrator in President Roosevelt's New Deal and was appointed head of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration for the Southeastern United States. This area included Key West which was bankrupt with almost zero employment. The choices were to move everyone to Tampa and make the Florida Keys a park or establish the Keys as a tourist resort or as he called it a “tropical Bermuda.” He chose the latter and proceeded to put the city to work on Federal relief cleaning, building and improving the facilities required. Under his administration a sewer system was installed. The City was lushly landscaped and the airport repaired and work on the overseas highway continued. Mr. Stone brought in artists from the WPA Arts Project to establish an artist colony and atmosphere that still exists today. Julius Stone is reputed to be the first man to wear Bermuda shorts in Key West. Stone had absolute control over the city and became known as the “Kingfish.” He did not always follow the Federal rules and some of his projects were of questionable legality. The programs worked and Key West was on the road to recovery from economic ruin. The 1935 hurricane and World War II slowed tourist growth, but his farsighted programs and faith in a tourist based economy were the foundation for the economic well being Key West enjoys today. After Stone left the New Deal, he returned to Harvard and attained a law degree and in 1940 he returned to Key West not only as a lawyer, but also an investment counselor and a real estate broker. Stone spent the next eighteen years wheeling and dealing in Key West. Donated by , The Families , and , The Radisson Hotel Key West .