Southernmost Point Buoy

The Southernmost Point buoy is Key West's selfie shrine: a giant red, black, and yellow concrete marker shaped like a channel buoy, painted with "Southernmost Point Continental U.S.A." and "90 Miles to Cuba," set at the corner of Whitehead and South streets where the island meets the Atlantic. The city installed it in 1983, replacing a humble wooden sign that kept getting stolen, and it became one of the most photographed objects in Florida — a line forms from early morning to after dark, and the etiquette of taking one photo and moving along is enforced mostly by peer pressure. Two honest caveats come with the picture. First, it is not literally the southernmost point of the continental United States: a spot on the neighboring Navy property and a few uninhabited keys sit farther south, and Cuba's nearest coast is closer to ninety-four statute miles away — the "90" is rounded, or nautical, depending on whom you ask. Second, and more practical right now: the original buoy is fenced inside a city construction zone. Storms and age had undermined the seawall and the street end, and in September 2025 the city began a full rebuild of the site as a new Southernmost Point plaza, moving a full-size replica a block away to the pedestrian pocket park at 1400 Duval Street. The replica has the same paint, the same Atlantic backdrop, and — the city discovered — a much safer place to queue. The commission reaffirmed in 2026 that the original returns to its historic corner when the plaza is finished; no completion date has been announced.

The buoy's popularity is a small case study in Key West marketing genius. The "Southernmost" brand is everywhere on the island — the Southernmost House, Southernmost Beach, Southernmost Hotel — because being at the very end of the country is the town's whole identity, and the buoy gave that identity a physical form you could stand next to. It has survived a great deal: Hurricane Irma stripped its paint in 2017 and the original artist repainted it; a fire set nearby in early 2022 scorched it badly and required another restoration. Each time the city brought it back within weeks, because a Key West without the buoy is unthinkable to the tourism economy. The current plaza project is the most substantial work the site has seen — new seawall, drainage, road surface, and a redesigned public space — and the commission's 2026 resolution promised to restore its traditional look and paint both sides so two photo lines can form.

Visiting now: head for Duval Pocket Park at the very bottom of Duval Street, where the replica stands with the Atlantic behind it. Lines are shortest at sunrise — the light from the east is excellent for this shot — and after dark, when the buoy is lit and the crowds have moved to the bars. Midday on a cruise-ship day is the worst time; the queue can stretch to half an hour or more. Have your camera ready before your turn, take a couple of frames, and step aside for the next family; locals appreciate it, and so will the people behind you. You can still walk to the original corner at Whitehead and South to see the construction progress and the view toward the Navy property, but the photograph happens at the pocket park until the plaza reopens.

The point makes a natural hinge for a south-end morning. The Southernmost House, a grand Queen Anne mansion, stands across the street; the Butterfly Conservatory is a few blocks up Duval; the Hemingway Home and lighthouse are a ten-minute walk north on Whitehead; and the small beaches of the Atlantic shore — South Beach at the foot of Duval, Higgs Beach farther east — are close for a swim. The Conch Train and Old Town Trolley both pass nearby with narration. Expect nothing more than a photo stop — fifteen minutes plus the queue — and you will enjoy it; it is a postcard you get to stand inside, and that is all it promises.