Architectural, Cultural sights in Key West
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A
Casa Antigua
This was technically Hemingway’s first house in Key West and the spot where he wrote A Farewell to Arms, but it isn’t all that notable except for a lush garden in the back and one of the kitschiest ‘guided tours’ in the US. Here’s how it breaks down: go to the Pelican Poop Gift Shoppe, which now occupies the Casa, pay the $2 garden entrance fee and let the kitsch begin! Go into the peaceful green area out the back, then a recorded tape plays at the volume God uses whenever he says anything that begins with ‘Let there be…’ At this ear-splitting volume, a man with a voice that can only be described as Big Gay Al raised in Dixie, lays down the history of the Casa f…
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B
Heritage House
Of all the many historic Key West homes open to visitors, this Caribbean–Colonial house is among the most wonderful to walk through. That’s because it’s rarely crowded, has passionate guides, and contains original furnishings and antiques, from a piano from the court of Marie Antoinette to a set of dining chairs from the 1600s. All have been collected and preserved by seven generations of a local family. The Robert Frost Cottage, where the poet stayed for 16 winters, is out back, along with another wonderful garden.
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C
Little White House
President Harry S Truman – the one who came after Franklin Roosevelt? Marshall Plan? Helped start the Cold War? Never mind – used to vacation at this house. It is as lushly luxurious as you’d expect and open only for guided tours (though the two rooms of the Harry S Truman Annex, with displays on political and presidential trivia, are free). Plenty of Truman’s possessions are scattered about, but the real draw is the guides, who are intensely intelligent, quirky and helpful.
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