Because "Western Union" is on the National Register of Historic Places, the restoration work was accomplished in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standard for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects. Restoration funds were raised by private citizen contributions, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, and local Key West businesses. The restoration project was overseen by Master Shipwright, Leon Poindexter, owner of Seaport Vessels, LLC. Poindexter and his crew had previous experience by the rebuilding of HMS "Surprise" used in the movie, .