Frederick Douglass Gym, Key west

The Frederick Douglass Gym sits on Emma Street, distinguished by its weathered wooden exterior and the simple, functional lines of a neighborhood gathering space built in the nineteen thirties. This building served as the athletic center for the segregated African American community in Key West. During an era when public facilities were closed to Black residents, the local community constructed this gymnasium with their own hands. It hosted basketball games and social dances long after the surrounding streets grew quiet at night.