Historic Marathon

Historic Preservation

The City of Marathon sought a Community Planning Technical Assistance Grant in the amount of $40,000 to conduct a Survey and Master Plan of Historic Resources. The purpose of the Survey and Master Plan of Historic Resources is to develop a plan for the City of Marathon as it tries to maintain the historic character while addressing housing needs, flood risks, and redevelopment. These planning funds will help us evaluate the City’s current properties, review existing plans and policies, identify structures eligible for local, state and national register, identify the potential risks to these sites, and craft strategies to pursue the most viable routes to protect these structures while encouraging adaptive use.

These funds are important to the City of Marathon because our community is facing a number of economic and environmental challenges. At first glance, it is easy for the casual observer to conclude that the communities of the Florida Keys, such as the City of Marathon, have few problems. The City is located halfway between Key Largo and Key West, and enjoys both the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. Marathon is, undoubtedly, a beautiful place to live and work, with rich histories tied to fishing, the railroad, and mid-century development booms.

While the City of Marathon does not appear to have the distinctive historic structures that come to mind when preservation is discussed, the City does have its own unique heritage. There are roughly 2,283 properties within the City of Marathon that are at least 40 years old. Using the standard “Fifty Year” criteria for eligibility, there are 1,249 properties that are potentially eligible. This leaves 1,034 properties from the recent past, which could meet the eligibility criteria within the next 10 years. Without thorough identification and documentation, these properties are potentially threatened by development, and should therefore be placed on a “watch list”.

That’s why this grant is an important building block to develop a strategy moving forward while preserving the past. Marathon has tremendous historic assets that need to be documented, and if possible adaptively reused to breathe new life into the community.

Additionally, many of these historically eligible homes are pre-FIRM ground level structures. The City needs to balance the fine line of preserving our historic housing stock, and ensuring safe habitable dwelling units for our community. The loss of these structures through redevelopment, or flood/environmental factors should be avoided at all costs. Additionally, many of the older businesses lining US 1 are exhibiting signs of neglect and are contributing to a perception of decline in some parts of the City. Motorists passing through Marathon on their way to other destinations in the Keys are less likely to stop in Marathon and patronize local businesses if there is no community character or charm. In addition, it is also important for local residents to take pride in local businesses, and to frequent those businesses. This reinvestment in properties and their heritage ties a community together, and develops a sense of place; which in turn, causes the community to thrive and expand opportunities to the people who need it the most.

Continue to check this page for future updates.

Additionally, the Monroe County Library has begun digitizing photographs of historic Marathon and the full collection can be found here: Monroe County Digital Library: Historic Marathon

City Staff is willing to meet with public concerning specific areas or potentially historic sites. For further information please contact the Planning Department via email: sheab@ci.marathon.fl.us.