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Childhood trips to the remote woods of Michigan inspired his fascination with nature and a lifelong quest for adventure, including his passion for hunting and fishing. Interested in writing from an early age, he began his career as a journalist, working as a reporter in the Midwest. When poor eyesight kept him from enlisting during World War I, Hemingway volunteered as a Red Cross ambulance driver and was severely wounded in Italy at age 18, leading to a long convalescence.
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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.
The famous Hemingway House cats
Hemingway’s second wife, Pauline, had her chandelier collection shipped from Paris to Key West when she and Hemingway bought the house. Her glass and porcelain fixtures replaced all of the home’s original ceiling fans. The eighteenth century walnut dining table and eclectic sculptures were carefully maintained by the family. Large, round-top windows shine plenty of light into the striking yellow and black upstairs bathroom. Cement tiles patterned in a bird and fish motif add a dash of whimsy into the utilitarian space, while antique furniture pieces are reminiscent of the early twentieth century.
The former home of the Nobel Prize-winning American writer is now home to dozens of six-toed cats.
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.
Ernest Hemingway's Florida home is ready to withstand its 168th hurricane season - Popular Science
Ernest Hemingway's Florida home is ready to withstand its 168th hurricane season.
Posted: Fri, 01 Jun 2018 07:00:00 GMT [source]
It remained vacant for the next 10 years, until Hemingway’s death, after which his heirs sold it. The new owners, who had planned to live in the house, found that most of the furnishings and other memorabilia remained there, and they opened it as a museum in 1964. The Ernest Hemingway House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1958. It is packed with Hemingway memorabilia—his typewriter, photos, and animal skins. In addition, the house and grounds are occupied by dozens of six-toed cats that are said to be descended from a cat that Hemingway owned.
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Although the tour focused on the writer’s Key West years, our tour guide JL mixed in a bit of Hemingway’s life before and after this period for context. His multiple marriages and affairs, accident-prone nature, and family history of mental health issues certainly shaped his life. Ernest and Pauline divorced in 1940, Hemingway took up residence in Cuba with his third wife, Martha Gellhorn. He continued to visit Key West during the 40’s and 50’s until death in 1961. Throughout the years, Key West has been home to many writers and artists, but none whose presence and influence is as profound as Ernest Hemingway’s. Hemingway continued to travel throughout the 1930s for both work and pleasure.
Visiting the Hemingway House in Key West
Inside Ernest Hemingway's Key West Home and How It Inspired Many of His Famous Writings - Biography.com
Inside Ernest Hemingway's Key West Home and How It Inspired Many of His Famous Writings.
Posted: Thu, 04 Jun 2020 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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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.
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.
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.
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.
For more than a decade, Ernest Hemingway called Key West home, producing some of his most famous works and immortalizing what had been a somewhat remote stretch of land in southern Florida. Today, his estate is a tourist hotspot, providing visitors with a unique look into the legendary writer’s life. Hemingway named all of his cats after famous people so we follow that same tradition today. Cats are capable of learning and responding to their names, particularly if they have an affectionate relationship with the person who calls them.
Imagine the parties on those porches and then around the pool once built. Whether or not you believe the Hemingway cats will give you good luck, the cats themselves are certainly lucky. They have the run of the property, and you’ll often find them napping in unexpected places in and around the house. The cats don’t seem to mind their human visitors and enjoy pets and scratches from their adoring fans. His writing studio at the home was on the second floor of the converted carriage house.
This section guides you through tours, operating hours, ticket details, shopping options, and events including weddings. Hemingway loved polydactyl cats, especially because sailors believed they bring good luck. Hemingway suffered multiple serious injuries and survived numerous accidents during his life. The house was the first in Key West to have an upstairs bath with running water (fed by the cistern on the roof), and one of the first with modern plumbing.
One of the things you may first notice is the remarkable resemblance of some of the staff members to the writer. On exhibit are several typewriters that Hemingway used throughout his career, tangible tools of his trade that produced some of his most famous works. Original manuscripts and early drafts showcase Hemingway’s writing process, his revisions, and his thoughts as he created stories that would captivate readers for generations. The Hemingway Home & Museum in Key West houses an extensive array of Ernest Hemingway’s personal items, each providing insight into the life and work of one of America’s most celebrated writers. The staff employs best practices to maintain the genetic lineage of the polydactyl cats while also ensuring the population remains at a sustainable number through a spay and neuter program. A highlight of the property is the in-ground swimming pool, an extraordinary feature for a residential home in the 1930s.
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