Touring the Key West Hemingway Home is a fascinating way, to learn about the most prolific writing period of this Nobel Prize winner. His adventurous lifestyle and personality come back to life, while visiting this majestic New Orleans-style mansion on a 1-square acre tropical garden lot. Most importantly, for cat lovers, it even upholds his tradition, as a home to 50+ six-toed (polydactyl) cats.
Walking down the bustling Duval street in Old Town toward Hemingway’s home, I found it nicely secluded. It’s nestled in lush tropical gardens with a brick wall around it. He built the brick wall from discarded bricks from Key West’s old streets. The intention was to create privacy from all the tourists, that came to gawk at his home. The wall became a backdrop for many street performers and musicians that gathered in front, along with tourists.
The entrance fee is $20, including a tour. I spent 3 hours absorbing the history and inspiration from all accomplished here and its creative atmosphere. The mansion is a New Orleans style with a wrought-iron porch, all nestled in a lush tropical setting. Elegantly, it resides on 1-square acre of land at the second highest point in Key West, 16 feet above sea level, to avoid flooding from hurricanes.
Related: Top 10 Things to Do in Historic Key West, Florida
Ernest Hemingway moved to Key West from Paris in 1928 with his wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. Her uncle gifted them the home in 1931, where they remained until 1939. These nine years became the most prolific writing period for Hemingway, even though it was during the Great Depression. Overall, the turquoise waters of Key West and this tropical paradise home created a solid foundation from which Ernest wrote.
Key West Hemingway Home – A Guided Tour
First, I took the indoor guided tour to learn the history. There are nice placards throughout the complex, explaining different aspects of history. On the main floor, we walked through the kitchen and main living room. Upstairs we went into the room showcasing his life with 4 wives:
Hadley Richardson (1921-27)
Pauline Pfeiffer (1927-40) “I don’t mind Ernest falling in love, but why does he always have to marry the girl when he does.”
Martha Gellhorn (1940-5)-Famous War Reporter who wrote “Travels with Myself and Another” about her travels with Hemingway.
Mary Welsh (1946-61)
Then we walked into the room showcasing Hemingway’s passion for wildlife and African Safari. He was deeply inspired by Teddy Roosevelt’s 1909 African Safari. He hired the same guide, attempting to duplicate the President’s safari costing $30,000. These adventures became the inspiration for his book, Green Hill of Africa.
Hemingway’s Key West Writing Studio
From the master bedroom, there was a catwalk to the Writing Studio. A hurricane later destroyed the catwalk, and it wasn’t replaced. Hemingway wrote daily from 6 am until noon, producing about 500-700 words/day. Also, he wrote standing up, because of a war injury to his back. 70% of Hemingway’s literary works was written during the nine years he lived in this house:
A Farewell to Arms
Death in the Afternoon
Winner Take Nothing
Green Hill of Africa
To Have and Have Not
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories
Key West Hemingway Home – An Extravagant Swimming Pool
This home was the extravagant setting to the first and only swimming pool within 100 miles of Key West. A drill reached the saltwater table and pumped into the pool, as no fresh water was available for Key West until 1944. It cost $20,000 an astronomical amount for the Great Depression Years. The U.S. Poet Laureate, Elizabeth Bishop said: “…it lights up at night – I find that each underwater bulb is 5 times the voltage of 1 bulb in the lighthouse across the street, so the pool must be visible to Mars – it is wonderful to swim around in a sort of green fire.”
During the Great Depression from 1930-1933, Key West plummeted from the wealthiest city in the U.S. to one of the poorest.
Imagine how the home and lifestyle of Ernest Hemingway was a bit insensitive to his surroundings. While many were scavenging for jobs and food, he extravagantly spent money on a swimming pool at his mansion, along with an African Safari, on par with the President of the U.S. However, tourism was developed at Hemingway’s home to resurrect the community. The Federal Art Project enticed writers, performers, artists and musicians as a Bohemian art culture to attract tourism. Also, this included a map of attractions like celebrity homes, such as Hemingway’s.
Key West Hemingway Home Maintains his Tradition of having 50+ Cats
There are winding paths throughout the lush gardens with benches, fountains and of course, cats. The 40-50 cats began with the six toed (polydactyl) cat named “Snow White” gifted to Ernest by a ship captain. Polydactyl cats are considered good luck and especially helpful on ships with better balance and hunters with the extra toes. Hemingway said, “One cat just leads to another.”
Today, the estate maintains Hemingway’s love for cats and is home to 40-50 cats, many with the 6 toes. Plus, there is even a Cat Cemetery, where you can read the names of his cats named after Ernest’s famous friends. For example, cats commemorated are Errol Flynn, James Joyce, Mark Twain and Emily Dickinson. I amusingly watched “Babe Ruth” crawl under the bed covers hiding from the tour groups.
Overall…
It’s easy to imagine why Hemingway was so prolific while living here. It seems the structure and nurturing environment kept his Muse healthy and productive, so he was able to gift the world with most of his lifeworks. Despite his alcoholism and manic depression, this home seemingly gave him the peace of mind to articulate his stories and adventures for us all to read and enjoy.
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