Key West Historic District

Key West Historic District is the area also known as Old Town in the city of Key West. It covers the western half of the island with Duval Street as the main road. The district is notable for its cozy streets with historic buildings all over the place making a Key West walk a unique experience.

There are many attractions and points of interesting in the streets of the historic district. You can start at Mallory Square to the northwest and head to the grand red-brick Custom House on Front Street, which was constructed in 1891. The building is now open as the Key West Museum of Art & History and a good place to get more stories about the city.

Continue on Front Street, and you will arrive at Truman Little White House. It is a house from 1890, which was the winter White House for president Harry S. Truman. He spent 175 days here during 11 visits. The house was originally at the waterfront and built as officer’s quarter on the naval station here. Truman arrived for the first vacation in november 1946, and William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy also visited the house, before it became a museum in 1991.

From Mallory Square you can continue the walk along Duval Street which connects the Gulf of Mexico in the northwest with the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. In the street you can enjoy historic houses, shops, cafés and restaurants in old settings. You can also take a look at some of the buildings like St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, before arriving at some of the southernmost houses in the continental USA and the Southernmost Point Buoy.

Another great spot is the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, which is the most famous attraction in Key West. It is located on one of the highest points on the islands, and across Whitehead Street from the house, you can visit Key West Lighthouse. The lighthouse was first lit in 1849 and after increasing the height in 1894, the light was 30 meters above sea level. The building is now open as Key West Lighthouse and Keeper’s Quarters Museum, where you get the story of the place and a great panoramic view from the top of the lighthouse.

Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

Ernest Hemingway Home is the historic home where the famous author Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote for nearly a decade. The house is now a museum, featuring Hemingway’s personal belongings and the descendants of his six-toed cat Snow White.

Hemingway was given the cat by a ship’s captain, and some of the cats who live on the museum descend from Show White, and it is probably the same with other cats in town. Visits in the museum are guided, and after the tour you have access to the house, gardens and a writing studio.

The house was built 1848-1851 in French colonial style by Asa Tift. Ernest Hemingway and his wife Pauline Pfeiffer lived here from 1931 to 1939 after having moved to Key West in 1928. The couple divorced in 1940, and Pauline lived in the house until her death in 1951. The house museum opened in 1964.

Mallory Square

Mallory Square is a Key West square known for its nightly sunset celebration. The square is located in the western part of town, and it is a popular gathering spot for tourists and locals alike. For the stunning views of the sunset and also for the activities in the area.

Mallory Square is located on the waterfront in the historic old town of Key West and adjacent to the cruise piers. You will find street performers, food vendors, arts and craft exhibitions, museums and more at and around Mallory Square, where Key West Shipwreck Museum is a popular attraction.

Southernmost Point Buoy

The Southernmost Point Buoy is an iconic landmark in Key West. It marks the southernmost point of the continental United States, and it is a much-used photo spot and a must-visit for anyone traveling to Key West. The marker is an anchored concrete buoy, established as a tourist attraction in 1983 by the city of Key West.

Before the present buoy, there was a wooden sign marking the southernmost point at the same spot, which is approximately 140 km from Cuba. However, the buoy and the sign is not accurate in being the southernmost point, since the area to the southwest is further to the south. At the Fort Zachary Taylor Beach, you can walk as much south as possible.

The military facility of Truman Annex makes up the most southern point on the island of Key West. And about 15 km to the west of Key West you will find the island of Ballast Key, which is in fact the southernmost point. If you look for the southernmost non-island spot, you must go to Cape Sable southwest of Miami.

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is an area at the western tip of the island and city of Key West. It is home to a historic Civil War-era fort and one of the best beaches in Key West making it a great place for leisure and to get more acquainted with the history of the fort.

Construction of the fort began in 1845 as part of a series of forts to defend the southern border of the United States. The location of the fort was decided in 1822, and plans were approved in 1836. The facility was built with supporting artillery batteries, Martello Towers, and it was named after president Zachary Taylor who died in office in 1850.

The fort was used at several events like during the Spanish–American War in 1898, during World War I 1917–1918, World War II 1941–1945, and during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, before the facility was decommissioned as a naval station in 1974. Filling in of land around the fort made the present area, including the creation of an attractive stretch of beach.