Name/Title
Old Island Days No.23 'Golden Era'Entry/Object ID
2018.33.0001Description
Wood carving by Mario Sanchez depicting the corner of Duval Street and Greene Street. Businesses on Duval Street include Wolkowsky & Sons Clothiers, Markovitz Fruit Stand, Sam Wolfe Cigar Factory and Pepe's Cosmopolitan Coffee House. Sweet Back's Taxi, a horse carriage is traveling north on Duval, while the Bull Dog Shoe Shine man is walking south. The Custom House is visible in the background, and a streetcar is traveling on Greene Street.
A caption written by Sanchez reads, 'I remember seeing Sweetback's taxi transporting folks around town in his horse and buggy on the unpaved, coral rock streets of Key West. During the 1920s, Key West was a boom town. The streets should have been paved with gold we paid so many taxes. But then you were Navy or a fisherman or a cigar maker. There was a lot of other work providing services of one sort or another. Sweetback made his living giving rides around the small island. The sailors off the Navy ships in port had saved money at sea to spend on wine and women. Sweetback was a streetwise Conch and knew where to find both. He'd work all night showing the sailors the town. I hear he got his nickname, Sweetback, from the temptation of joining the sailors. Before the Depression hit, Sweetback prospered and bought a Model T. I saw him driving fewer sailors around. The nuns at Saint Mary's sort of took Sweetback under their wings hiring him to taxi them around Key West to shop. They didn't turn him into a religious kind of man but he seemed to work fewer and fewer nights and more days.'Type of Sculpture
ReliefArtwork Details
Medium
Wood, OilSubject Place
City
Key WestState/Province
FloridaCountry
United States of AmericaContinent
North AmericaCounty
MonroeCollection
David Wolkowsky CollectionMade/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Sanchez, MarioRole
ArtistDate made
1975Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
City
Key WestState/Province
FloridaCountry
United States of AmericaContinent
North AmericaCounty
MonroeInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
SignatureLocation
Bottom Right CornerTranscription
Mario SanchezLanguage
EnglishMaterial/Technique
PaintedLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
IntaglioNomenclature Primary Object Term
SculptureNomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsDimensions
Height
16-1/2 inWidth
33-1/2 inDepth
1-1/4 inCondition
Reason for Exam
InventoryOverall Condition
Good