Key West has been clever about maximizing every square inch of the island in order to extract as much moula out of tourists, as possible. Firehouse Parking Lot is no exception.
The firehouse itself, as well as the lot, are recently made over with decent capital invested in aesthetics and quality materials. The firehouse is a working fire station, however the main fire station in Key West is a little farther away, as is the separate Key West Firehouse Museum. Fun Fact: the Key West Fire Department has a Class 1 rating (one of only 178 fire departments in the country), which means it's such an exemplary FD, that local insurance rates are lower because of it!
Basically, this location is a municipal property where they could have knocked down the old firehouse to build a parking garage, but they either needed a fire station here for safety, or could not part with history, and ended up with the main priority of function given to housing cars for cash, and emergency facility there in case it's needed.
So don't feel like you're going to impeded any four alarm catastrophe by parking there, local government definitely welcomes your money for it!
We parked here a couple times over our week in KW, and found a space easily each time. It was $4/hour at the kiosk, which takes credit cards. The lot is well lit and safe. You can park 10 hours max, so overnight if needed, depending on when you get there (or just return to reset meter). Residents can park here as well with permits.
There are public bathrooms at the rear of the firehouse, and public seating in a shaded overhang at the side of the building. It's in a quieter part of town, which is helpful if you want a moment of peace.
If you need any tourism guidance while there, a new free tourism office, Our Key West, is just across the street to help you.
The lot is close to a number of downtown activities, and since no businesses have their own lots, and street parking is just as expensive as the lots, so you can't rely on parking to be available pretty much anywhere in KW. You will drive around forever, miserable, if you don't just realize you're going to need to walk a distance no matter what. Pick a destination lot, and resolve to walk throughout your day.
Of the various places we parked throughout our week, $3/hr was the cheapest, but the perk of the Firehouse Parking Lot was the free restrooms, and shaded area, which we needed to change and feed our baby. Also, there are no gates restricting you from getting in and out, and no attendants to wait on, because it's self-serve at the kiosk. The respite of friendly help and a/c at the nearby tourism office mentioned, is also a nice plus! It's a little more expensive than the cheapest, but provides some perks for the money. read more