Ernest Hemingway House, Colonial house museum in Key West, United States
Ernest Hemingway House is a two-story white house with a dark green hipped roof and a wide wraparound veranda on the upper level, edged by a black wrought-iron railing on slender black posts. The ground floor has pale green louvered shutters and tall windows, including a large arched window on the left. Its 18-inch-thick limestone walls stand on Key West's second-highest site, 16 feet above sea level.
Asa Tift bought the lot at 907 Whitehead Street in 1851, but the house was likely built after the Civil War in the 1870s, possibly by architect William Kerr. In 1931 Pauline Hemingway's uncle Gus purchased it for $8,000 as a wedding gift. The Hemingways restored it, and Hemingway wrote Green Hills of Africa and To Have and Have Not there before leaving for Cuba in 1939.
The property takes its name from the writer who spent many of his most productive years here, using an upstairs room as his workspace. Visitors today see furnishings and personal items from his time, offering a sense of the family's daily routine.
The museum opens daily and is located in the historic district of Key West, a short walk from downtown. Guided tours last around half an hour and take visitors through the ground-floor rooms and the garden with the cats.
The property is home to dozens of six-toed cats, descendants of a gift from a ship captain in the 1930s. The animals move freely around the garden and rooms, and have become a main attraction for visitors.
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