Art Mckee Museum

[Castaway]

Is the museum building still there on Plantation Key? I remember visiting it as a kid in the late 60's. It was my first inspiration. I also remember visiting the closed up fortress in the early 90's, but haven't been there since.

 

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[mad4wrecks]

Art actually had 2 museums on Plantation Key. The older, smaller one was replaced with the "fortress" museum you are referring to. I included pictures of both for your enjoyment. The fortress museum is still standing but has been turned into a gift shop:

http://www.seefloridaonline.com/treasurevillage/

 

[aquanut]

Hey Mad4wrecks,Thanks for the pictures. I haven't seen that museum in years!
Aquanut

 

[mad4wrecks]

Glad you enjoyed the pictures. I was down in Islamorada this week and took this picture of my friends ScubaChagy and Darren in NC at the former museum, which is now a Montessori school

 

[stevemc]

There used to be a treasure museum on Key Largo across from the entrance to Pennecamp St Park. It was Carl Fismers place. I think he closed it down about 1990 or so. It was only open a few years. Also the Treasure Village shopping center South of Tavanier on Plantation Key, where the giant fiberglass lobster is, has many cannons still outside. Or used to. The curbs and stuff are ballast rocks from the wrecks offshore. I think it is all shops inside. It used to be the museum. It was a pretty good collection of shipwreck stuff.

 

[diverlynn]

Heading down to Key West in a few minutes and plan to stop by Plantation Key, never seen the Mckee museum.

Diverlynn

 

[Whydah]

Can anyone tell me what happened to all the treasures after Art McKee passed away?.... Hoping they found a good home and are all still in one place... Would be a shame if it all got broken up after so much work involved in gathering it all...

 

[Salvor6]

Art's son Kevin got all the treasure and his daughter Karen got the charts and research material.

 

[SteveS]

Fortress is now a school. Was there just a few years ago when it was still a gift shop and they still had some ballast and iron artifacts in the back area which may still be there. Kevin got most of the treasure and I know Bob Weller puchased some nice items from him.

Joe Kimball had a treasure museum in Key Largo maybe ten or more years ago which was quite nice though now gone. There's a shop in Islamarada on A1A that has a bunch of shipwreck items on display and for sale though can't think of the name right now but worth stopping in (on east side).

Many of the Keys wrecks artifacts found in the 50's and 60's used to be on display throughout the Keys, but most are now gone. Used to be a little bar by Capt. Slates dive shop/charter boats in Key Largo that had a bunch of the HMS Winchester artifacts on display. Bar still there (now "Shipwrecks Bar") but changed ownership many times and artifacts long gone with old owner (going back to the 80's). Stopped in that bar couple of years ago and saw a bunch of people all wet, missing shoes etc. Turned out they were all from a Nat Geo crew filming on the reefs and their charter boat sank. All I could say to one of them was they picked the right bar to be in.

 

[bcinbucks]

Here's a vid about Art McKee

Here's a vid I found about Art McKee earlier today:



Published on Jan 9, 2013Meet Art McKee, the Father of Modern Treasure Salvage and one of the world's first Underwater Archaeologists! Enjoy classic footage from the 1940s of Art recovering treasure from LA CAPITANA, while learning the story of this amazing underwater pioneer. Art's daughter, Karen McKee, carries on her father's tradition of shipwreck education. Karen displays an impressive collection of LA CAPITANA artifacts at her museum in Tavernier including a gold escudo, a diamond studded religious medallion and a child's rosary. Then, Visit the original (1949) McKee Museum on Plantation Key and check out the 20 foot LA CAPITANA anchor in front of the building. Later, visit Somewhere in Time, Dick Holt's outstanding shipwreck museum in Islamorada, and discover a vast trove of LA CAPITANA artifacts including an intact olive jar, a musket ball mold, a sounding lead, navigation dividers and tiny signal cannon for sending "smoke signals" to other ships of the fleet.

In the second half of the show, visit SAN JOSE Y LAS ANIMAS of the 1733 Fleet during an actual salvage operation. See how a "mailbox" directs the salvage vessel's prop wash 30 feet down to blow a hole in the 3 to 5 foot sand overburden, thus exposing the frame of this ancient galleon. Learn a few components of a ship's frame including the keelson, the keel, ribs, riders, futtocks, limber holes, ceiling planks, and wooden fasteners called trennels. Check out a Terredo infestation in the wood frame that could have hastened the sinking of SAN JOSE. Get an up close look at a Chinese King Hsi Dynasty pottery shard, linking SAN JOSE with Spain's Manilla Fleet, whose goods were loaded in Vera Cruz, Mexico several months before the disaster. The real treasure of the 1733 Plate Fleet shipwrecks is the ability to step back in time, if only for a few minutes, and explore the secrets and beauty of the grave sites these galleons picked to spend eternity - 280 years ago!

 

[Bum Luck]

Karen's posted on TNet, and is a great lady!

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Thanks for posting up the video there bcinbucks. Loved it.
ZDD

 

[Donovan]

Some of the Art McKee material is at the History of Diving Museum in the Upper Keys.
The El Galeon full size replica is moving from Miami to Cape Canaveral today. It is not to be missed.
Donovan

 

[zigzag3]

Anyone else have the pleasure of diving with Capt Bob Klein out of Islamorada and Plantation Key in the sixties?

 

[Blak bart]

My older friends dove with klien and treasure hunted and bottle collected with him. The museum in key largo is across the street from my house and is now a sandal shop. Carl fismar is still diving and still has a place in Tavernier he has given me much help with my finds. Karen is still here and is still involved with treasure related stuff when asked about it. Arts museum is a motesorri school for children, but has a lot of ballast stone and chain and other stuff laying around. Ocean gardens is a great store for treasure related items I recommend stopping there even if your not buying. Phil senna is the owner and it is filled with great stuff. The bronze cannon inside is an incredible piece. He recently purchased my friends atocha treasure collection and has many of her pieces for sale now. He buys many of the shells we dive and has many of our helmet shells for sale. The diving museum is also worth a stop. The Islamorada historical society has a museum in the islander resort. I have not been in there yet but ive herd it pretty cool. Its new and im not sure how much or what they have but ill be donating some stuff to them soon.if you turn on the road before shipwrecks bar and grill you will drive past slates house, right in his front yard are some carronades with a plaque attached describing the circumstances of the find. Whale harbor is being rebuilt but there are cannons and anchors laying about the property waiting to be set up again after everything is completed. Several of the small ones (4 pounders ) are from the 1733 spanish salvage camp tthat was across U.S.1. From whale harbor. There are cannons and anchors set up all around the keys. You'll see them in front of banks, restaurants, gas stations and resorts throughout the keys. Enjoy your time down there and stop and see the sites on your way down. There are lots of things to see if you slow down and take your time. Stop and have a beer at my brother in laws brewery in Islamorada. Islamorada beer co.

 

[ARC]

Art and Gay.

Wanna see more ?

 

[ARC]

 

[ARC]

Errr ooops... included a couple "extra" heh...

That is arts wife Gay with cannon... the other... ignore... tis family pics.

 

[ARC]

Art giving Gay the helmet.

 

[ARC]