Serving as the home of famed American author Ernest Hemmingway in the 1930s, the Hemmingway Home and Museum is connected to an essential piece of literary and local history of Key West, Florida. Visited by thousands of people each year, the location highlights what it can mean for legacy to define a landmark in a way that connects it to the past and present for the benefit of everyone.
The Key West Home of Ernest Hemmingway
Ernest Hemmingway is a literary icon, with books like A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises and For Whom the Bell Tolls influencing and defining 20th-century fiction. Some of his best-received works, including To Have And Have Not, and Green Hills of Africa, were written at his Key West residence which is now the Hemmingway Home and Museum.
Originally built in 1851 in the Spanish Colonial style that was popular in the early days of Key West, the house resided on a remote stretch of the city. Hemingway and his wife Pauline made the house their home in 1931 after having moved to Key West in 1928.
The current layout of the house is designed to bring Hemingway’s time in Key West to life, as it features numerous pieces of Hemingway’s furniture and possessions like his typewriter. It also contains various belongings related to his love of deep-sea fishing that came about during the time he lived in Key West.
In addition to these elements, the property features more than 50 cats that are descended from a polydactyl cat that Hemmingway owned when he lived at the property. The landmark also has a penny embedded in the concrete near the pool that is still on the property. It is the same penny that Hemmingway threw into the costly addition when it was installed by his wife in 1937, declaring that he might as well give it his last cent.
Hemmingway lived in the house until 1939 but owned it until his death in 1961. It would eventually be auctioned off and turned into a private museum in 1964. This conversion enabled numerous economic benefits for stakeholders and the entire city.
Tickets, Tours, Merchandise and More
Open daily, tickets for access to the landmark include a guided tour. Additionally, a Hemmingway Home Evening Writing Experience provides exclusive access to the grounds, including the writing studio. The Hemmingway Home and Museum is also a prime location for weddings and events like corporate parties, rehearsal dinners and more.
The Store at the Hemmingway House and Museum is stocked with an assortment of products that are linked to Hemmingway’s life and legacy as well as many other writers and artists. Products include apparel, books, souvenirs and more. The Hemingway Cats are also used cats in advertisements and cat-themed merchandise that is for sale at the location.
Allowing visitors to experience the same settings and surrounds that an icon of an era once gazed upon, the Hemingway Home and Museum has proven to be a source of inspiration for residents and visitors. A look into Hemmingway’s life as well as the ability to connect with his dramatic and eventful legacy has created an attraction has been able to cultivate the attention of audiences across multiple eras.
When History Becomes a Landmark
Several of the city’s top tours make the Hemingway Home and Museum a feature of their trips, helping to make it the most popular tourist attraction in Key West. Becoming a National Historic Landmark in 1968, it highlights what it can look like for what might otherwise be a lost or forgotten piece of history to instead celebrate a legacy that attracts attention and activity in countless ways.
