ABSTRACT: Becoming Paradise: Key West Florida and the Community Consequences of Heritage Tourism seeks to examine the causes and results of a community's transformation from an economy that primarily relied on the military to one that relies on tourism. The city's attraction to tourists relies heavily on its 19th century historic district and the transition has been, by most conventional measures, a success, garnering millions of visitors each year and building an economy estimated at more than $1 billion annually. However, this success has had a significant impact on the character and quality of life in the community. This thesis researches how the community made the transition, using contemporary newspaper and magazine accounts, and examines the impacts of the transition, referring to scholarly analyses of the tourism and heritage industries.