ERNEST HEMINGWAY HOME & MUSEUM
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Spanish colonial style house built in 1851 in the Key West tradition, with a writing room where Hemingway wrote
This Spanish colonial style house built in 1851 is one of the only ones built in the Key West tradition (stone foundation and basement). The author had the city's first swimming pool built here in 1937. It was from the writing room overlooking the pool that Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Green Hills of Africa, The Fifth Column, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, as well as The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber. At least, that's what they say. The house belonged to the writer from 1931 to 1961 and, inside and out, everything has remained intact and true to the time he lived there. You will discover the two floors punctuated with furniture, knick-knacks, books and dishes that belonged to the writer. From the first floor, you will have a nice view of the lighthouse of Key West. The large colonial garden is particularly pleasant. Unusual: you will come across several cats, sometimes lying on the bed, sometimes lying on the terrace. Take a close look at them: yes, they do have six fingers! They are cats polydactyls. Hemingway was given a polydactyl cat at a party with his sailor friends. The author then adopted others, and the speed of reproduction of the cats helping, there are now nearly fifty of them evolving freely in the property. These cats are a phenomenon, so much so that cat experts have renamed the polydactyl cat "the Hemingway cat".
Les fameux chats qui demeurent toujours dans la maison ont 6 griffes.
58 chats peupleraient la demeure. La plupart portent des noms de célébrités : Hilary Clinton, Shakespeare... Ces derniers sont habitués du public constant et peuvent être approchés facilement.
Éviter les heures de pointes ( 11h à 15h) sinon trop de monde pour tout bien voir.