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Tombrew
Tombrew
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3 out of 5
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Sunset at Mallory Square

  • November 11, 2007
  • Rated 2 of 5 by catronma from Nixa, Missouri
My husband and I are not really sit and watch the sunset people but his father insisted we go check it out so we did. Before the sunset the whole square is a mini circus. Performers gather and will give you everything from a dog on a tight rope to the traditional robot mannequin. All of course expect tips for their skills but for the change in your pocket you can get a wide variety of entertainment.As for the sunset it gets crowded around the edge, so much so that if you want a picture you either should find your place more than an hour ahead of time or resort to holding your camera in the air and snapping away. Given the crowd this is not the place for a romantic sunset this is a check the box I've seen it kind of spot. Try going by the cruise ships or on a sunset cruise if you want a better view or less people.I found it a bit anti climatic but like I said I am not a sunset person.

From journal Spring Break in Paradise

Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square

  • August 20, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by two cruisers from Ames, Iowa
Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square

Every night Key West celebrates the setting of the sun. We wandered down early and found the plaza empty so decided to have supper first. By the time we finished eating and settled the check we found the square so packed with people we couldn’t see the water let alone the sunset! Thanks to the invention of digital cameras, I was able to hold the camera above the heads of the people around me and look in the LCD view finder…and watch the sunset. It wasn’t a spectacular one and we didn’t see that fabled green flash.

The party atmosphere was fun. People were just there for a good time. The art work and crafts for sale varied in quality as did the routines of the street performers. After sunset the crowd wanders up Duval street in search of liquid rewards for their arduous labor.

From journal Key West Kudos

Editor Pick

Mallory Square-Sculpture Garden

  • August 20, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by two cruisers from Ames, Iowa
Mallory Square-Sculpture Garden

We found the main entrance to Mallory Square. The tour trolleys start from this point and a number of attractions, like the Shipwreck Museum are clustered here. You probably could spend your entire stay in this small area and have a good time. The city has done a good job of placing objects of interest in the area. (and it's free, too) The best is a collection of sculpture busts of famous Key West citizens. We would try to guess who the person was before looking at the plaque. I gave up on this, because I only got Harry S. Truman right. It was free entertainment and educational, too. While we looked at the sculptures we had to kick chickens. Key West has a feral chicken population. Officials estimate there as many as 2,000 roosters and hens running free on the eight-square-mile island. Old chicken-killer Bill (Poultry Disease Research retiree) wasn’t pleased and kept showing the birds a pantomime of his killing technique. They kept an eye on him. They did have a city ordinance on their side. Recently some of the birds have been gathered up and taken off-island to be adopted. Uh huh.

From journal Key West Kudos

Mallory Square

  • August 18, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by mtemail from Huntsville, Ohio
Mallory Square


Mallory Square

Key West is ALL about the daily sunset festival. The focal spot of this is Mallory Square. The area on the northwest corner of the island is the location of Mallory Square. Starting about 2 hours prior to sunset the local street venders and performers start their set up. The food venders are primarily aimed at those food items which can be held in one hand while a drink is in the other. There are jewelry and art stands which have lots of choices of interesting items. One particularly interesting item for us was the individual who was selling art bottles which were essentially flattened bottles with the labels in tact—they were very interesting.

The highlight is the street performers. There are magicians and jugglers and the locally famous ‘cat man’. All of the street performers are again competing for your tourist dollars in tips so the acts are very carnival like in attempting to get the tourists to their tip buckets. The acts are very good and the whole feel of the area is very celebratory. Primarily alcohol is the common factor for the adults...but there are children around and prior to the sunset the crowd usually isn’t tanked—so it is family up until sunset. Shortly after sunset the kids should probably be taken back to the hotel for a good nights sleep in preparation for the next day of great activities (and to avoid the expose to a potentially rowdy drinking crowd).

From journal Key West with the Whole Family 2006

Mallory Square

  • April 15, 2004
  • Rated 2 of 5 by dmiltimo from Lakemoor, Illinois
Mallory Square

It ain't all it's cracked up to be. You'll be annoyed and panhandled to. Everyone on the island heads here about two hours before sunset and sits to wait for the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. BORING! Go on a sunset cruise instead! I would class Mallory Square as the main tourist trap of the whole island.

From journal Key West -- April 2004

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