Tift & Company, Ships Chandlery & Icehouse, Mallory Square, Key West, Monroe County, FL

Significance: The northern building is the city's oldest commercial building, and was built by Amos C. Tift and Co. as a ships chandlery. The land on which the building was constructed was part of the Naval Yard during the Island's occupation by Commodore David Porter's anti-pirate squadron from 1823 to 1826. The southern building was built as an icehouse. Not until 1890 was artificial ice manufactured at Key West. Until that time, natural ice was shipped in specially built ships from the North. Ice was a vitally important commodity in the tropics for the relief of fever victims. The large cisterns in the rear of the buildings were used to collect rainwater which supplied ships calling at the port.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-28
Survey number: HABS FL-176
Building/structure dates: 1841 Initial Construction