Iconic Key West ‘Southernmost Point’ Buoy Removed for Restoration

One of Florida’s most photographed tourist attractions has gone MIA. Key West’s Southernmost Point buoy, which purportedly designates the southernmost point in the continental United States, was removed earlier this week for restoration.

For the foreseeable future, if you find yourself strolling along the seawall at the corner of South and Whitehead streets, your view of the water will be blocked by a chainlink fence covered in green tarp and signs reading, “Danger: Construction Area. Keep Out.” A live shot from the world-famous Southernmost Webcam offers a glimpse behind the fence: The top of the buoy can be seen painted white, but surrounded by plywood.

City of Key West workers removed the landmark early Thursday morning to begin a year-long process to restore not only the buoy, which has stood in that spot since 1983, but also its surrounding Southernmost Point Plaza, which has taken a beating from hurricanes and saltwater over the decades. Once the process is complete, the buoy will return to its rightful place.

So, will Instagram experience a drought of Southernmost Point selfies in its absence? Not exactly.

The city has installed a replica a block away, at 1400 Duval St., as a temporary replacement. Key West Mayor Danise “Dee Dee” Henriquez acknowledged the urgency: “[The Southernmost Point buoy] is the most photographed landmark in the city of Key West,” she said. “You can come here at eight in the morning…there’s already a line. Come here at 11 at night, there’s already a line.”

The popular attraction dates back to the early ’70s, when a wooden sign designated the supposed southernmost point in the U.S. – the actual southernmost point in Florida is on Ballast Key, southwest of Key West. But the legend stuck, and in 1983, 42 years ago this month, the city placed the concrete buoy at Southernmost Point Plaza, spawning a photo tradition dating back well before the social media age.