Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
STILTSVILLE
Head to the southern shore of Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park and you'll see, way out
in the distance, a collection of seven houses that stands on pilings in Biscayne Bay. The
buildings, known as Stiltsville, have been around since the early 1930s, ever since 'Craw-
fish Eddie Walker' built a shack on the waves. More buildings were added over the years,
and the 'village' was, at times, a gambling den, smuggling haven and, during the 1960s, a
bikini club where women drank for free if they wore a two piece, and anything could fam-
ously go.
At its peak in 1960, there were 27 'homes' in Stiltsville, but as one mght guess, hur-
ricanes and erosions took their toll. No one lives in Stiltsville today, but it is possible to
here with the illustrious historian Dr Paul George.
In 2003 the nonprofit Stiltsville Trust was set up by the National Parks Service to rehab-
ilitate the buildings into as-yet-unknown facilities; proposals include a National Parks Ser-
vice visitor center, artist-in-residence colony or community center. Not much work seems
to have progressed toward this idea, but if you'd like more information, check out
Little Havana
