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• The Hemingway Home Grounds and Architecture
• The electronic OR print edition of The Florida Historical Quarterly, our award winning journal.
• 00am-5:00pm for walk-in visits.
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• Hemingway’s time in Key West inspired some of his most famous works
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• The Ernest Hemingway House and Museum in Key West

On a slightly odder level, the estate is also home to over 50 cats, with names like Pablo Picasso, Hairy Truman, and Audrey Hepburn. A ship captain once gave Hemingway a six-toed cat, of whom the writer was extremely fond, and from whom these cats are supposedly descended. Even though Hemingway left Key West in 1939, he left his mark on the island city. On a yearly basis, Hemingway look-alikes descend on Key West for the Hemingway Days festivities.

The Hemingway Home Grounds and Architecture

Ernest and Pauline accepted the offer, and he resumed work on a war story he had started on the ocean passage to Key West. Hemingway continued his Paris habits of writing during the early mornings, and taking time to explore his surroundings in the afternoons. It was on the advice of John Dos Passos, a fellow member of the “Lost Generation” of ex-patriate artists and writers populating Paris during the 1920s, that Hemingway was first prompted to visit Key West. Hemingway did not go directly to South Florida from Paris, but rather arrived through Havana, Cuba—a city and country that would prove to be critically important in Hemingway’s later personal and professional life. Upon his arrival in Key West in April 1928, the first order of business was to locate the new Ford Roadster that Pauline Hemingway’s wealthy Uncle Gus had so generously purchased for the newlywed couple.

The electronic OR print edition of The Florida Historical Quarterly, our award winning journal.

The guided tour includes information about all aspects of Hemingway’s interesting life. But you surely don’t have to be a fan of Hemingway to find a visit to Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum inspirational. During a tour your guide tells you about all the stages of Hemingway’s life. As the house is shown interesting events and facts from the beginning to the end are told.

00am-5:00pm for walk-in visits.

The Key West Lighthouse that was built long before he entered the scene stands just across the road from the old home. As the story goes, the lighthouse was very well-needed, if not necessary, to guide Hemingway home to the house after his wet nights on the town. So you have plenty of chances to make their acquaintance when you visit the Ernest Hemingway house in Key West. In 1939 Hemingway moved from Key West to Cuba, leaving his second wife and children behind. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, following the publication of his novel The Old Man and the Sea.

NEW SHOW PRESENTS ERNEST HEMINGWAY 'IN A FUNNY WAY' AT COMEDY KEY WEST - Florida Keys Weekly

NEW SHOW PRESENTS ERNEST HEMINGWAY 'IN A FUNNY WAY' AT COMEDY KEY WEST.

Posted: Thu, 14 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

This collection not only highlights Hemingway’s achievements and hobbies but also helps contextualize his place within the literary world and the broader historical events of his time. The museum grounds also feature a cat cemetery, where many of the property’s former feline residents rest. This area serves as a testament to the close-knit nature of the home’s community of cats and the care afforded to them over the years. It also acts as a historical record, with many of the tombstones dating back decades, inscribed with the names of these beloved pets, marking their place in the legacy of the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West is a national historic landmark where one can explore the life and work of the famous author.

It’s an iconic piece of literary history that offers visitors the chance to learn about one of America’s greatest writers – and the cats that made him smile. From exploring the grounds to learning more about his wives, there is something for everyone at this unique Florida attraction. The Ernest Hemingway House also serves as a tribute to the author’s immense influence in the literary world. The house has been preserved with much of its original furniture and artwork, giving visitors an idea of what life may have been like for Hemingway during his time there. It is a reminder of the many works he wrote while living in Key West, including To Have and Have Not, which was largely set in Key West.

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Using the salt-water pump, it took two to three days to completely fill the pool. During the summer months, the salt water would remain fresh for only about two to three days. Then the pool would need to be completely drained, another day or two would be required to scrub down and remove the algae and debris, and then the cycle would start again.

The Ernest Hemingway House and Museum in Key West

Tift owned several stores in Key West, along with ships and a large salvaging operation, making him one of the wealthiest men in the area at the time. She used the perfect mix of humor and history to keep our group entertained and engaged while we learned about the house and Hemingway’s time in Key West. The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is located at 907 Whitehead Street, close to the Key West Lighthouse and Museum. The line can be long, especially on days when cruise ships are in port. Those tourists bothered him, knocked on his door, distracted him from his writing.

“A Farewell to Arms” became Hemingway’s first best-seller and marked his place as one of the preeminent modern American writers. Ernest Hemingway traveled around the world and lived in different parts of the country – but for the legendary American author, Key West was in a league of its own.

One of the most unique features of the grounds is the two-piece water fountain, the base of which was once a functioning urinal at Hemingway’s favorite Key West bar, Sloppy Joe’s Bar. When the venue moved locations in 1937, Hemingway remarked to the owner that he had spent enough money at the bar to own a small piece of it; in return, he was gifted the colorful, flower-patterned urinal. Pauline Hemingway quickly had it adorned with an old Spanish olive oil jar from Cuba, and fitted it with plumbing. Hemingway loved art, so it’s fitting that a series of framed paintings and pictures surrounds the fireplace, including one of Hemingway that was hung when the museum opened. The home was built in 1851 and was lived in by Hemingway and his family from 1931 to 1939. Now a public museum, the two-storey Spanish Colonial house still retains its original limestone façade and reclaimed cheery yellow shutters.

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The museum provides guided educational tours that cater to both school groups and individuals seeking to learn about Hemingway’s life, his literature, and his influence. Tour guides offer detailed insights into Hemingway’s years spent in Key West, with a particular emphasis on how the location impacted his writing. A variety of memorabilia and ephemera related to Hemingway are on display, such as personal letters, fishing gear, and awards.

Originally the Key West house was built in 1851 from rock and in Spanish Colonial style. But in 1931 when the Hemingways received it the house was in massive need of restoration. So they made an overhaul to get the Key West home to the state and National Historic Landmark it is today.

Hemingway lived in the home with his wife and their two sons from 1931 until 1939. When Hemingway left for Cuba in 1939 to pursue another relationship, Pauline stayed in the home and lived there until her death in 1951. The home remained in Ernest Hemingway’s possession until he died in 1961. Tift owned the home until his death in 1889, living in it alone for much of his life after the death of his wife and two sons from yellow fever in the 1850s, and his daughter’s passing in 1869. Electricity was added to the house around 1899, and plumbing was installed about 1944, when Key West began receiving piped-in water from Florida City. Prior to that date, the islanders collected rainwater in cisterns, two of which are still on the property today.