Key West, Florida Travel Adventure: Hemingway Home and Museum
KEY WEST, FL (Amazing America TV) — Ernest Hemingway is one of the most celebrated American authors of the 20th century, but his life was marked by mystery, mayhem, and sorrow. His writing explored war, love found and lost, masculinity, and the human condition — themes that helped earn him both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature.
A Midwestern-born reporter turned novelist, Hemingway drew heavily from his experiences as a war time correspondent during World War I. Although he lived in Paris and Cuba, it was his beloved Key West that inspired one of his greatest works, To Have and Have Not.
The house, built in 1851 in a French and Spanish Colonial style, served as Hemingway’s home from 1931 to 1939. Amazing America’s Kevin Kotwas takes us inside the Hemingway Home and Museum, where visitors can get an inside look at the life of a literary legend.
Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and died in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1961 at age 61. He published seven novels during his lifetime, with two more released after his death.
The “Hemingway House,” as it is fondly known, offers visitors a glimpse inside the mind of the legendary writer. The home features an extensive collection of personal memorabilia, and at times, it can feel as though you are eavesdropping on his life. Be sure to visit the living room, where photographs of Hemingway’s fishing adventures line the walls. Guests can also tour his writing studio and explore the lush garden and the indoor pool — the first one ever built in Key West.
Visitors may also hear the story of “Snow White” — not the Disney character, but Hemingway’s beloved six-toed cat, given to him by a sea captain. Many of the cats that now live on the museum grounds and throughout the island are believed to be descendants of that original feline.
Today, the Hemingway Home and Museum is a National Historic Landmark and a must-see stop for anyone visiting Key West.
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