Authors and writers have always flocked to the Florida Keys, including Ernest Hemingway!
Writers have always loved the Florida Keys, none more famous than Ernest Hemingway, who bought a beautiful Spanish colonial home at 907 Whitehead Street in 1931 and stayed eight years.
Among the most famous works that Hemingway completed in the Key West estate include were Death in The Afternoon, The Green Hills of Africa, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, and To Have and Have Not.
I must admit, I enjoy Key West and recently frequented some of the haunts that Hemingway used to imbibe in. The Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West was one of Hemingway’s hangouts, and I stopped in and had a few beers. Much of his memorabilia decorated the walls of this historic pub. My kind of place!
When Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote in Key West during the 1930s, he spent much of his leisure time with friends at Sloppy Joe’s Bar.
I toured the Hemingway House and took the photo (above)of the chair and table he wrote his masterpieces on. Look at his typewriter, much different than the digital devices used by authors and writers today!.
Check out the video (below) of the house which was Ernest Hemingway’s residence & writing studio in the 1930s. Pauline, Hemingway’s’ wife got the house as a wedding gift from her uncle in 1931. The value was $8000. Ernest Hemingway was a cat lover and bred his famous 6 toed polydactyl cats. While he was in Spain in 1937, his wife secretly installed a $20,000 pool. Twice the home’s value. The cats have a kennel shaped like the Hemingway house. This place is paradise for cat lovers.
I hope you enjoy this wonderfully done video of the Hemingway House and grounds.
Robert Morton authors the Corey Pearson- CIA spymaster series. Check out his latest spy thriller, MISSION OF VENGEANCE.