Eduardo Gato Cigar Factory

The Eduardo Gato Cigar Factory features a distinctive three story brick facade topped with a heavy, gabled roof that stands out against the low profile of the neighborhood. Eduardo Gato built this structure in eighteen eighty four after a fire destroyed his earlier workshop. He brought in workers from Cuba to roll cigars by hand using techniques he perfected in Havana. These workers kept the industry alive in Key West for decades while the factory became a cornerstone of the island economy.