Who was Ernest Hemingway?

Ernest Miller Heminway was a Nobel-prize winning author, journalist, war reporter, big game hunter, bullfighter, deep sea fisherman and all-round man of action.  Hemingway packed more into a year than most of us manage in a lifetime.  He lived in Chicago, Toronto, Paris, Havana and traveled around the word, but also loved the quiet of places such as Key West, Florida and Ketchum, Idaho.

Hemingway is most often associated with the giant, sour, frozen daiquiri known as the Papa Doble which he drank at La Floridita in Havana where he once consumed 16 in an evening!  He remarked that one "felt as you drank them, the way downhill glacier skiing feels running through powder snow". Sloppy Joe's Saloon was his local during his days in Key West though while in Ketchum he was a regular at the Olympic Bar.  During his time in Paris, he frequented Les Deux Magots, Cafe de Flore and the Dingo Bar.  While in Madrid, Spain he favored Museo Chicote.  While traveling, Hemingway made a point of visiting most of the world's best bars.

Hemingway had many famous drinking buddies.  During the 20s in Paris, Hemingway drank with the cream of the era's writing and artistic talent, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Pablo Picasso.  Later in life, many of his close relationships were with men who shared his passion for fishing and the outdoor life.  

Hemingway fell in love with Key West when he arrived in the early 1930s.  He had said that it was unlike any other place he'd ever been and the greatest place in the world anytime, any day.  It was here that he and his wife, Pauline bought their home at 907 Whitehead Street across from the Key West Lighthouse and where he worked every morning writing novels that would become some of his best known pieces.  After spending several hours in the eary morning writing, Hemingway would hang out at Sloppy Joe's with the locals and the bar's original owner, Joe Russell.  Hemingway and Russell became great friends and would often go fishing together.  In fact, they, along with several other Key West locals were referred to as The Key West Mob and were known for their fishing expeditions to the Dry Tortugas and Cuba.  They were also known for their nicknames which is where the legend of Papa Hemingway came to life.

For Hemingway, Key West was a town of inspiration and familiarity.  He lived like many others in Key West which included fishing, visiting and drinking with his buddies.  He wrote books that were often based on the people he was closest to in his life.  To Have and Have Not, one of his acclaimed novels, was based on Key West during the Depression.  Hemingway left an indelible impression on the community.  At Sloppy Joe's, visitors can see his original bar stool where he sat almost daily and his home hosts thousands of visitors every day, allowing everyone to see where it all took place.  A tour of the Hemingway House is a treat, revealing original items and artifacts that belonged to the Nobel Prize-winning author.  Guests can even meet the descendants of his beloved six-toed cat and see the penny he stuck into the cement after Pauline had the pool built in their backyard for a cost of $20,000.  His spirit is alive throughout the mansion and the streets of the community he called home for nearly 30 years.

The Hemingway Home was added to the National Registry of Historic Places

on

November 24, 1968