City of Washington

The City of Washington is one of the most historically significant and dramatically situated shipwrecks in the Florida Keys — a 325-foot steam-powered passenger and cargo vessel that met its end on Elbow Reef near Key Largo in 1917 after decades of distinguished service, including a notable role during the Spanish-American War transporting troops from Florida to Cuba. The ship struck the reef while steaming through the Florida Straits, and though the passengers and crew survived, the vessel could not be saved. What remained on the reef evolved over more than a century into a remarkable marine environment that today offers advanced divers an encounter with living history. The wreck lies in depths of approximately 20 to 75 feet, with the boiler, steam engine, and hull fragments spread across a wide area of Elbow Reef. The shallower portions of the wreck are accessible to intermediate divers, though the site carries an advanced rating due to the currents that sweep across Elbow Reef with regularity — sometimes gentle, sometimes strong enough to require careful management. The iron components of the hull are thoroughly encrusted with corals, sponges, and gorgonians, and the wreck debris mingles with the natural reef structure to create a complex habitat that supports rich marine life. Schoolmaster snapper and bluestriped grunt school in dense formations around the boiler structure. Large moray eels occupy cavities throughout the wreck debris, and spiny lobster shelter beneath every available overhang. Nurse sharks are common resting in the shadows, and sea turtles — hawksbill and loggerhead — graze across the encrusted ironwork. The City of Washington's long history and dramatic reef setting make it one of the most evocative wreck dives in the upper Keys, combining the appeal of historical archaeology with the vivid biological richness of a protected Florida Keys reef environment.