The Hurricane Proof Sweeting House!
HURRICANE PROOF HOME!
The great Labor Day hurricane of September 2nd 1935 destroyed almost every building on both Upper Matecumbe and Lower Matecumbe Keys. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Red Cross built hurricane proof houses for the families whose homes were destroyed. The walls were 12″ thick with steel and poured concrete. The Sweetings asked for a different type of structure, one with an apartment on the second floor and a business room below. The building had two apartments, one in which they lived. And get this, in the back yard was a water tank, wash room and two bath houses all hurricane proof outside! 
You can find this historical marker and home on US-1 at Mile Marker 81.5 oceanside. It’s 100% FREE to stop on by and look at it for yourself.
