Key West Old Town is a gorgeous historic district in Florida. I loved Key West the first time I came there, and this time I was here to explore the place more deeply. Even though it was spring break and people were drunk by 12pm, I was very serious with my camera, notebook and guide book. Here what I liked the most in Old Town…
The incredible houses
Octagon House, built in 1897. Calvin Klein lived there for a while!
Casa Antigua, built in 1919, used to be a hotel, where Hemingway stayed for his first visit in Key West. Below is the garden in a courtyard… Fancy.
Cypress House, built in 1887, which is in a typical Bahamas style house
This crazy wedding cake is the Curry House, built at the end of the 19th by a billionaire. It’s now a luxurious inn, but it’s possible to visit the house, where the landlords still live! It’s a little bit messy and spooky, and the family has many personal stuff all around: pictures, instruments, boardgames… But it gives a really nice shot at a mansion interior.
Audubon House, my favorite house
I LOVED this place, because:
(1) it’s a gorgeous house built in 1840, and furnished with style
(2) there’s an exhibit of Audubon lithographies – and I eventually learnt who this guy was (I saw his name in many US cities, never knew what or who it was referring to). Anyway, Audubon was a naturalist who drew all the birds in America, and made a book out of it. It’s so incredible that you would think he invented the birds.
(3) the tropical garden, very fancy and wild. I saw many butterflies there, but also, pineapples growing in the natural habitat: it was a first for me.
Hello there!
The Little White House of Key West
The little White House do refer to the biggest one in Washington DC. Truman (the president of the US between 1945 and 53) lived there for his summer vacation – 10 days, no more. Obviously, it’s said all over the place that there were “work-vacation”, but I definitely saw pictures of him fishing on a boat.
Mallory square
This is the most touristic place of Old Town, not super pretty, except for the view of the Gulf of Mexico and some museums.
Duval Street
Duval Street is the most famous street of Key West. It’s a little bit trashy – a floridian version of New Orleans Bourbon Street, because there are many bars to hang out, and cheap shops. But there are also very fine buildings! Like this theater, which is now… a pharmacy.
St Paul Church, so white that it hurt my eyes
Cuban influence
