It is the most popular tourist attraction in Key West, Fla. – a stately, 3,264-square-foot Spanish colonial mansion at 907 Whitehead St. that is as storied as the man who once called the property home: American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway.

Built in 1851 for marine salvager Asa Tift using rock hewn from the grounds, the abandoned property had fallen into disrepair when Hemingway and his wife Pauline Pfeiffer moved to Key West in 1928. After spending three years in a variety of rentals, the couple began to look for something more permanent. Upon discovering the property, Pfeiffer convinced her uncle to buy the house for $8,000 and then give it to them as a wedding present. The uncle agreed, and the Hemingways moved into the home in 1931.

Hemingway hired out-of-work locals to complete the painstaking task of restoring the house to its former glory, while Pfeiffer styled the home’s interior. The features included 17th-century Spanish furniture, French chandeliers, Italian marble and hand-painted tiles from the Royal Palace in Havana, Cuba, dappled with some of Hemingway’s hunting trophies. The room above the garage was transformed into a writer’s retreat where Hemingway would write “Green Hills of Africa,” “To Have and Have Not” and “Islands in the Stream.”

Swimming in different directions

One of the more interesting features on the property is the in-ground swimming pool that cost a whopping $20,000 to construct in 1938. According to the Hemingway Home and Museum website, the pool required a 24-by-60-foot hole dug out of solid coral to accommodate depths ranging from five to 10 feet.

Although the famed author planned the pool himself, he complained frequently about the cost associated with it and accused his wife of spending every last penny he had to complete her showplace. Legend has it that in 1938 Hemingway theatrically flung his reported “last red cent” onto the flagstone pool deck so that all of his money could be invested in the property.

While there is a penny embedded in the concrete, no one knows for sure if it is the original penny.

The couple divorced that year, and he relocated to Cuba. Pfeiffer continued to live on the property with their two sons, Patrick and Greg, until her death in 1951. The boys inherited the home in 1961 after the death of Hemingway, but they had no emotional attachment to the estate and sold it quickly for $80,000.

Although the house was technically a private residence, the public became fascinated by the home as well as its famous occupant and were constantly asking for tours of the property. In 1964, the home was converted into a museum, and in 1968, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

A unique retreat

Visitors to the Hemingway Home and Museum marvel at the author’s personal effects, including his typewriter, which is on display in his writer’s retreat above the garage, as well as the ornately carved headboard that was once a monastery gate. Guests can amble along the second story veranda and catch a glimpse of the island’s iconic lighthouse across the street, tour the gardens, enjoy the anecdotes shared by tour guides and interact with a number of six-toed cats that call the property home.

Most of the felines on the property are descendent from Hemingway’s original pet Snow White, which was gifted to him by a sea captain. In fact, the Hemingway Home and Museum doubles as a cat sanctuary. And while the animals have the run of the estate, they also have a cat house that is a replica of the Hemingway home itself.

Cory Lee, who runs the website Curb Free with Cory Lee said Hemingway’s Key West home is a must-see for anyone visiting the area.

“The most interesting I saw in the gardens at the Hemingway Home Museum were all of the cats. There are dozens of cats on the ground. They were so cute but seemed to be a bit fearful of my wheelchair, so they kept running away,” he said in a Facebook post. “I really didn’t expect for the Hemingway home to be so nice, but I absolutely loved my visit!”

Dawn Habermann said she was impressed by the house. “I waited over 40 years to get there, and it was amazing,” she posted. “I first read ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ in high school and fell in love.”

Rachel Stefan was married at the Hemingway home in 2023 and said her event was everything she’d ever dreamed.

“The venue is absolutely stunning, and their in-house planning team was amazing,” she said in a Google review. “The staff was incredibly kind, and I can’t wait to visit this special place again soon.”

For an in-depth look into the life of one of the greatest authors of all time, to appreciate historic architecture or even just to cuddle with cats, the Hemingway home and museum is worth a visit and the memories will last a lifetime.

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