Key West The Way It Was

09/07/2026

Hanging out with the boys in Vermont

09/07/2026

If you’re wondering why I haven’t been posting so much I’m with my boys in Vermont My Son James just bought a beautiful giant house 15 minutes from Lake Champlain was swimming yesterday waters crystal clear and beautiful. That is one big frigging lake and the surrounding mountains are unbelievable. We’re going to the waterfalls today.

09/07/2026

Story by Keith Terracina good morning and happy Monday. I’m hanging out here in Vermont with my two sons having a blast, Anyway The Terracina’s  has been taking photos in Key West as far back as the late 40s, that’s when my grandfather Captain Tony showed up. He had a 2 1/4 large format camera lots of incredible large format, negatives, I inherited, soon after my grandfather settled in Key West. His older brother my great uncle Salvatore came down and started photographing. He was a professional photographer in Manhattan with a very successful studio, when my grandfather bought the original Hemingway bar and turned it in the Captain Tony’s Saloon, Salvador set up his mask photography studio above the bar that was in the mid 60s through the late 70s just a couple months during the winter so he could take a break from his wildlife in New York. He ended up partying more in Key West than New York. Let’s just say that mask photography studio above his brother’s bar got pretty wild. I know for his hand. I started working for them in 1977, wild times in the bar and above the bar back then those mask parties were epic, When I showed up in Key West in 1976 i got my first professional camera in 1977 by 19 78. I was a published photographer down there and by the early 80s I established myself as Keith West the Sunset King  I published a whole bunch of postcards madden in frame photos also did two great posters, and I worked for for Kennedy Studios and Gallery, so yes, my family has lots of images here’s 80 of them. I can’t describe them. I’m in Vermont hanging out with my boys.

09/07/2026

Let’s jump back in time anybody know anybody here anybody look familiar?

09/05/2026

Story by Keith West Terracina, after this post I’ll probably be tied up for the next 15 hours, I’m taking  off to Vermont at 4 o’clock in the morning to hang out with my two sons in Vermont gonna have to shut the phone off. I will be posting some pretty wild Vermont mountains and lake stuff tomorrow on my personal page Keith Terracina, As far as this image right here I’ll tell you how it started in 1981 when I was working at Captain Tony’s with my grandfather somebody gave him this beautiful print. It was about 11 x 14. I thought it was cool as hell. I thought Shel Silverstein and Mel Fisher should’ve been in it, but the guy could only fit so many people. I never saw that print again till 2001 when I inherited my great uncle Sal‘s estate of his life‘s collection of photographs,  masks and art, this original print right here was with a bunch of posters I also inherited, I made a bunch of T-shirts out of it and cool thermal cups did well, right now I am revamping our website and you’ll be able to purchase this original print or T-shirt and big thermo cups. it should be all up within two months. have a great weekend.

09/05/2026

Well, good evening and happy Friday night, the big weekend anyway I did this post over two years ago when I first started this page I had about 6000 right now after 2 1/2 years I have 59,000 followers and sold over 5000 books you know about my book “Key West the way it was” you could pick it up in a bunch of locations in Key West and yes, it’s been doing rather well for two years if you’re not in Key West simply give me a text 908-361-5606, i’ll give you a better deal that my Amazon price plus I’ll hand sign it and thumb printed with a spectacular large format negative for a book marker from the 60s. Yes, I saw books.

09/05/2026

09/04/2026

A little bit about the author of the book “Key West the way it was” and this page right here, of course it’s me Keith Terracina telling the story. This still photograph was pretty much taken 50 years ago in my grandfather‘s bar, Captain Tony’s Saloon, and yes my AI guy brought it to life. I gotta tell you a quick story about this night like every night in Key West there was an incredible party always going on in the bar, remember half the people in their were own vacation and the other half were partying, maniacs, shrimpers, smugglers, fisherman pirates of course my Goodfella friends from Jersey that moved there with me and then you have my grandfather‘s friends who we never knew what they did, on this particular night there was  a gentleman that has been coming to the bar for a month. He inherited a couple million dollars and offered my grandfather lots of money for the bar and still said he could stay upstairs and run the bar. My grandfather was thinking about it. He was probably in trouble with a gambling debt, or something, anyway so one night this guy shows up with a bunch of hand-painted Captain Tony T-shirts to give out to all the bartenders myself Captain Tony. everybody, you could see me wearing one, but let me tell you about this guy this particular night he came in with a deck of playing cards what it was if you gave you one it was your free drinking card for the night,  those girls were ringing in record amounts of cash for that register which that guy paid and gave the girls an incredible tip. I mean, incredible, we had to beside him giving out 30 cards he gave me 10 cards to give out to friends I made a bunch of phone calls that bar was rockin the band had their friends show up, and then of course this particular guy asked the magic question. Where can I get some disco dust or pogo powder within 34 minutes somehow somebody got him a big bag that I mentioned a big bag everybody had the time of their life, at 4 o’clock in the morning when I had to get everybody out of there, my grandfather, let some people stay and we partied there till after sunrise, that party picked up again at 12 o’clock in the afternoon when we had to open the bar  up, I surely miss that guy wonder where he is now he’s gonna be 50 years older, and by the way, his name was Randy He goes in the category of the top 10 most memorable customers.