Hemingway and Place

Dr. Hilary Justice (JFK Library). Updated 11/2023.

Places that were important to Ernest Hemingway's life and works, presented chronologically (in order of his first major experience of a given place).  This list is always-evolving--designed to grow in phases along with related material elsewhere on this site--and should not be considered definitive.

For a curated list of the places Hemingway called home, please visit Hemingway's Homes. 

A period photo of Hemingway's birthplace, a three-story Victorian home in Oak Park, Illinois.
Oak Park, Illinois

Hemingway's time in Oak Park, Illinois, and works written during that time or inspired by his memories.

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Northern Michigan

Hemingway's time in Northern Michigan and the works set there and/or inspired by his memories.

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Kansas City, Missouri

Hemingway's time in Kansas City, Missouri, and the works written there, set there, or inspired by his Kansas City experiences.

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A black and white photograph of Red Cross ambulances parked at the Duomo di Milano, Milan, Italy, during World War 1.
Italy

Hemingway's time in Italy and the works set there or inspired by his experiences.

A 1926 photo showing the exterior of the apartment building where Ernest and Hadley Hemingway lived.
Toronto

Ernest Hemingway lived in Toronto, Canada, twice: a few months in the winter of 1920; a few more in 1923-1924. Ongoing work for The Toronto Star provided the young writer with needed support.

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A black and white image of the Art Institute of Chicago, street view, taken 1920s. Cars and trucks line the street, and traffic flows in two directions. Several people walk down the near sidewalk.
Chicago, Illinois

Hemingway lived in Chicago very briefly just after World War I. There he met his first wife, Hadley Richardson. The newlyweds moved to Paris soon after.  

Street view from Ernest and Hadley Hemingway's first Paris apartment.
Paris

Hemingway's time in Paris and the works written there, set there, or inspired by his experiences.

A black and white photograph of the Sonloup bobsled run in the Swiss Alps, near Montreux. Hemingway with three others rides a bobsled into a curve on the run. Mountains and mist in the background.
Switzerland

Hemingway's travels to Switzerland and the works written there, set there, or inspired by his experiences.

Bulls stand and lie in two farm enclosures in Spain, perhaps Ronda, taken by Hemingway or a friend in 1923. Stone farm buildings and a movable wooden wall form the enclosures, and awnings create shady spots in both.
Spain

Hemingway's travels to Spain and the works written there, set there, or inspired by his experiences.

A black and white image taken from atop a rampart tower, thus a top-down view of a French walled town with the sea in the distance. Stone ramparts punctuated by medieval defense towers wrap the town on the left side of the image. Inside the walls are a street and a row of two or three story white buildings with dark roofs.
Provence

Hemingway's travels in the Provence region of France and works written during, set in, or inspired by those travels.

Detail from photograph of Hemingway's home in Key West
Key West, Florida

Hemingway's time in Key West, Florida, and the works written there, set there, or inspired by his experiences.

Hemingway's fishing boat, the Pilar, underway in Havana harbor, with Hemingway at the helm.
The Gulf Stream

Hemingway's three decades on the Gulf Stream, its importance to his world-view, and the works inspired by his research and experiences.

A c. 1930 black and white photograph of a white wooden frame house with a wraparound porch, the Pfeiffer family home in Piggott, Arkansas. Paul and Mary Pfeiffer (Pauline Hemingway's parents) stand on the porch steps.
Piggott, Arkansas

Piggott, Arkansas, was hometown to Hemingway's second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. The Pfeiffer family had a tremendous impact on Hemingway's life and writing.

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A black and white landscape photograph taken in Wyoming. Low clouds partially cover distant mountains; in the foreground are meadows edged by conifer trees.
Wyoming

Hemingway's travels to Wyoming and the works written there, set there, or inspired by his experiences.

The Hemingway campsite during their first safari: Three tents sheltered in the shade of a small stand of trees. Kenya/Tanzania, 1933-4.
Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda

Hemingway's travels to Africa and the works they inspired.

A black and white square photo of the entrance to Hemingway's Cuba home, the Finca VigÍa. Palms and other tropical plants frame the entrance, which is approached by a series of steps -- broad cement over stone steps, then a steeper set of five white wooden steps under a portico.
Cuba

Hemingway's time in Cuba and the works written there, set there, or inspired by his experiences.

A black and white photograph of Ernest and Mary Hemingway in a launch in Venice. Hemingway's hand is raised in greeting. The buildings of the main island (with the St. Mark's campanile) in the background.
Venice

Hemingway's travels to Venice and the Veneto region of Italy and the works written there, set there, or inspired by his experiences.

Distant view of Hemingway's hillside home in Ketchum, Idaho
Idaho

Ernest Hemingway’s twenty-two year relationship with Idaho began in 1939, deepened over many long autumn stays in the Wood River Valley, and culminated with him making his final home in Ketchum in 1959. He died by suicide there in 1961 and is buried alongside family and close friends in the Ketchum cemetery. Idaho subtly influenced several of Hemingway's later works, most notably For Whom the Bell Tolls.

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Selected Archival Holdings

The Ernest Hemingway Collection

Audiovisual Collection

Media Galleries

Research Guide (includes links to supporting collections)

Textual Collection