729 Truman Ave.

729 Truman Ave.. Circa 1904. The Norvin Green Maloney House at 729 Truman Avenue is a splendid, three-story Queen Anne home built in 1904. Defined by its unique encircling wide wooden verandas and expansive front garden, the frame house is historic, distinguished by its clapboard exterior, distinctive dormer, and columned porches., This corner lot itself features a fantastic genealogy and family history. It faces the original Military Road, later called Division Street, and still later named for President Harry S Truman, who visited Key West eleven times during his presidency. It sits across from the Basilica of St. Mary., Maloney's grandfather, Walter Cathcart Maloney, Sr. (1813-1884), was one of Key West's earliest noteworthy citizens. He authored the island's first book, A Sketch of the History of Key West, in 1876. An attorney and early island landowner, he emigrated from Georgia in 1860. Generations of this Maloney family followed., One of Key West's four founders, William Whitehead, sold 37 surrounding acres to L. Windsor Smith in 1847. By 1862, Frederick Filer had acquired this parcel. He deeded this spacious lot in trust for the two infant children of Walter, Jr. and Mary Maloney in 1879. Their son Charles Stewart, the fortunate recipient, later operated the Western Union telegraph service. He married Ida Lowe but died at age thirty-nine. Their only son, Norvin, became an attorney and served as the island's City Attorney. He erected this distinctive home for his wife, Elizabeth (1885-1926). Norville passed on May 16, 1933, at age 55., Tropical gardens fill the expansive front area due to Maloney's home being blown off its original limestone foundations in a 1909 hurricane. In later decades, this vintage house offered boarding rooms and apartments. Restoration of the landmark began in the 1980s. The Mermaid and The Alligator Bed and Breakfast opened its welcoming doors soon after that.