Key West Heritage House Museum and Robert Frost Cottage, Historic house museum in Key West, United States.
The Key West Heritage House Museum is a 19th century house displaying furnishings and objects from six generations that document residents' lives over time. A small cottage behind the main building completes the site and offers insight into daily life on the island.
Jessie Porter bought the house at 410 Caroline Street in 1934 and opened it as a museum in 1995; it closed on April 17, 2010. The property became a gathering place for writers including Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Frost. From 1945 Frost spent 16 consecutive winters in the cottage behind the house.
Jessie Porter, a Key West hostess and preservationist, made the house a gathering place for writers including Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Frost. The museum that opened in 1995 displayed hundreds of mementos from the city's early days, when shipwreck salvaging made it the richest per capita in the United States. It closed on April 17, 2010.
The museum at 410 Caroline Street closed on 17 April 2010, so the house and the Robert Frost Cottage behind it cannot be entered today. The building stands in Key West's Old Town, a district best covered on foot; Caroline Street is a few blocks from Duval Street. Check locally before making a trip, since the site is no longer open to visitors.
Robert Frost spent 16 consecutive winters in the cottage behind the house, starting in 1945. The cottage now bears his name and was part of the museum that closed on April 17, 2010.
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