The Legacy
O A K P A R K , I L L I N O I S
Hemingway Birthplace
Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in a Queen Anne-style home at 339 North Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. Built in 1890 by his maternal grandparents, the house was among the first in the area to have electricity. Hemingway spent the first six years of his life here before the family moved nearby. In 1992, the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park purchased and meticulously restored the home to its original Victorian-era condition. Today, it operates as the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum, offering visitors guided tours that explore the author’s early life and family influences.
K E Y W E S T , F L O R I D A
Hemingway HOME
The Hemingway House in Key West, Florida, is a historic landmark and former residence of famed author Ernest Hemingway. Built in 1851 in the Spanish Colonial style, the house became Hemingway’s home in the 1930s. Here, he wrote some of his most famous works, including To Have and Have Not. The lush property is also known for its population of polydactyl (six-toed) cats, many descended from Hemingway’s own pet. Today, the house operates as a museum, offering visitors a glimpse into the writer’s life and legacy. Its tropical gardens, preserved interiors, and literary history make it a beloved cultural destination.
H A V A N A , C U B A
Finca La Vigía
The Hemingway Home in Cuba, known as Finca Vigía (“Lookout Farm”), is located in San Francisco de Paula, just outside Havana. Ernest Hemingway lived there for nearly 20 years, from 1939 to 1960, and wrote some of his most significant works, including The Old Man and the Sea and A Moveable Feast. The home, preserved as a museum, remains much as Hemingway left it—filled with books, hunting trophies, and personal artifacts. The property includes a tower study, his fishing boat Pilar, and expansive gardens. Finca Vigía offers a deep insight into Hemingway’s Cuban life and enduring literary legacy.
K E T C H U M , I D A H O
Hemingway HOuse and preserve
Ernest Hemingway’s final residence is located in Ketchum, Idaho, near Sun Valley. He purchased the two-story, 2,500-square-foot home in 1959, situated west of the Big Wood River. Constructed in 1953, the house features concrete walls designed to resemble wood. Hemingway lived there until his death in 1961. The property was bequeathed to The Nature Conservancy by his widow, Mary, in 1986 and later transferred to The Community Library in Ketchum. Now managed as a private residence for visiting writers, the home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
B O S T O N , M A S S A C H U S E T T S
JFK LIBRARY
The Ernest Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston is the world’s principal repository of the author’s manuscripts and personal papers. Donated by his widow, Mary Hemingway, the collection encompasses over 1,000 manuscript items—including drafts of The Sun Also Rises and 44 endings to A Farewell to Arms—and more than 10,000 photographs. It also features Hemingway’s correspondence with notable figures like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Marlene Dietrich. Established through the efforts of Mary Hemingway and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the archive offers unparalleled insights into Hemingway’s life and work.
