Self-guided audio tour · $14.99
This self-guided audio walk follows Ernest Hemingway's years in Key West, 1928 to 1939, at seven places and nine stops, from Simonton and Caroline Streets to Duval and Greene Streets. The route is about 2.1 miles: 45 minutes of walking plus about 16 minutes of stories, about 61 minutes in all. Entry to the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is not included.
How it works
From $14.99
Needs a data connection as you walk (about 20 MB)
About
This self-guided audio walk follows Ernest Hemingway's years in Key West, 1928 to 1939, at seven places and nine stops (three of the stops are around the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum). Every stop comes with two to four links to its sources, among them clippings from the Key West Citizen of his years and his own letters. He landed in April 1928 and sailed for Havana on December 24, 1939. The walk opens in your phone's web browser, with no app to install, and each stop is told from the public sidewalk or a public park.
At each stop you get a short narration to hear, the same words to read, and two to four links to its sources. The sources include the Key West paper of the day, a letter of his from April 1928 and a federal survey of the house. Where a story comes from a later teller and not from a record of the time, the narration names the teller.
The route is about 2.1 miles on foot. Walking takes about 45 minutes and the narration about 16 minutes, about 61 minutes in all. It starts at Simonton and Caroline Streets.
Not included: entry to the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, sold by the museum at its gate. Not wheelchair accessible. Service animals are allowed. Travelers should have a moderate level of physical fitness.
Highlights
- Simonton Street (Key West, 1928). Where the walk starts. The census counted 18,749 people in Key West in 1920 and 12,831 in 1930.
- 314 Simonton Street (Casa Antigua), 1928. Where he first lived in Key West, upstairs from the Ford dealership of Trevor and Morris.
- The Hemingway Home gate (Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum), 1931 to 1933. The house was deeded to him on April 29, 1931. The family moved in on December 19, 1931. Told from the gate: entry isn't included.
- A working day (1934). His working day as Arnold Samuelson, who was there, wrote it down. Told from Olivia Street.
- The brick wall (1937 to 1938). About 19,000 street bricks at $2 a thousand, and the City Council's 1937 inquiry into their sale. At Whitehead and Olivia Streets.
- Thomas at Petronia (Blue Heaven), 1938. The Blue Goose Arena held its first fight night on this corner on March 11, 1938. He refereed a fight there on June 17.
- Navy Yard basin (Truman Waterfront Park), 1934 to 1935. Where he kept his boat, the Pilar. He went down to her at midnight on the night of the 1935 hurricane.
- 428 Greene Street (Capt. Tony's Saloon), 1933 to May 1937. Joe Russell, his boat captain, ran Sloppy Joe's here. Told from Greene Street.
- 201 Duval Street (Sloppy Joe's Bar), May 1937 to 1939. Seen from across the street. Its grand opening here was announced for Saturday, May 29, 1937. He sailed for Havana on December 24, 1939.
Route
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Included
- Narrated stories · 16 min
- GPS route map
- Runs in your phone's browser · no app
- Lifetime access