Key West’s Museum of Art & History – Hemingway, Flagler and Famous Events

The Key West Museum of Art and History is one of my favorite places in town to both cool off and learn about the city of Key West. Located in the historic Custom House very near Mallory Square, the Museum of Art and History really focuses on telling the story of the famous residents and artists of Key West through both permanent and changing exhibits.

If you’re looking for a good activity for any age, add this stop to your list! Between the Ernest Hemingway connections and the history of Henry Flagler’s railway through the Keys, the Key West Art and History Museum is a really well put together collection that’s kid friendly and pretty cool to explore. If you have questions about visiting this or other museums in Key West, please leave a comment or send us a note. We love getting to share our favorite places and help others plan unforgettable trips to the Florida Keys!

Highlights of the Key West Art & History Museum

Key West absolutely gives you a pick of museums and things to do, but few have a collection of exhibits that weave the story of Key West the way that the Museum of Art & History does. The Florida Keys is such a cool place with solid mix of themes in its history so getting the broad picture of what this town is all about takes a lot of visiting different places and reading a lot of historic placards and sorting all the stories and facts in your head. Or you could come to the Key West Museum of History & Art.

The paintings, drawings and mixed media artworks in the collection are wonderful on their own, with some very unique features and lots of women artists, but then when you start to looks at the different pieces in front of you and you take note of the styles and settings, you see that the art portion is an amalgamation of Florida Keys storytellers painting a whole tapestry of the community and its history. Artwork from locals and famous Florida Keys lovers, like Guy Harvey and others, fills the walls, and then you get to artworks of famous Key West residents and their stories, like Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams.

As you enjoy all of these wonderful art exhibits they turn into historic exhibits that dig into the history of Key West from Henry Flagler to the wreckers that made the island rich. Train stories, political stories, Civil War stories… it all goes together to make a really fascinating visit. If you’re visiting Key West with kids, start your tours and planned activities HERE so you all have context for everything else you’ll encounter during your time in Key West and the Florida Keys.

Tips for a Great Key West Art & History Museum Visit

I get museum fatigue so I try to limit my time inside to no more than an hour, but I made it a whole 90 minutes and thoroughly enjoyed it. I know that I’m unique in that I geek out over both art and history, but the Key West Museum of Art & History is different and special enough that I think most people will be very much into it. Give yourself at minimum an hour to enjoy the multiple floors of exhibits and don’t schedule something time sensitive directly after as you may be here longer than you plan.

If you’re visiting the Key West Museum of Art and History with kids, this is a great opportunity to see if they have been paying attention as you’ve been driving through the Florida Keys. Exhibits about the big Labor Day Hurricane that took out the railway, the actual railway exhibits and the art depicting Key West’s famous residents are all great opportunities to talk to kids about historic sites and interesting things they’ve seen through your travels. Use the history exhibits to lay the groundwork for other places you’ll be visiting during your trip.

Visiting the Hemmingway House? Perfect, because there is so much about Ernest Hemingway here. Going to see a play at the Tennessee Williams theatere? Great, read about his time in Key West. Planning on heading out to Dry Tortugas National Park? Check out the Civil War history exhibits and how Key West was important, and then get the rest of the story when you make it out to Fort Jefferson.

Note: If you want to save a few dollars and also add more cool stops to your trip, get the Key West Museum Culture Pass. This ticket includes the Key West Museum of Art & Culture, the Key West Lighthouse, the East Martello Fort and the Tennessee Williams museum.

Adding a Museum Visit to your Key West Trip

I like that visiting museums is a low key activity and a great way to break up the day. When you’re planning your visit to the Key West Art and History Museum, aim for it to be something to do between big activities, like after a morning snorkeling trip and before an evening dolphin cruise. It’s nice to have something easy and mellow between the busy times. Also, I like planning museum visits like this for the hottest part of the day. When you’re visiting the Florida Keys in summer you’ll need museum visits like this to allow yourself recovery time from the hot sun. Come to the Key West Art and History Museum during the peak heat of the day and take your time. You’ll learn something, see some wonderful art and feel recovered.

Parking for the Key West Art & History Museum at the Custom House

The Key West Art and History Museum is located in the old Customs House just off Mallory Square. You can’t miss it. It’s best to walk here from wherever you are, but if you’re driving into the historic neighborhood you’ll find a few small parking lots nearby, close to Mallory Square. There is also a lot of street parking, but you’ll need to pay close attention to the posted signs, and more importantly THE PAINTED CURB MARKERS. Yes, Key West loves to display their parking laws at foot level with clearly marked rules and zones indicating where it’s okay to park and what is for residential parking with permits. And where garbage cans can go. And where you’ll be towed vs ticketed… Be smart about parking, or just take an Uber to get here.