Audubon House & Tropical Gardens - Key West, FL
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denben
N 24° 33.498 W 081° 48.370
17R E 418359 N 2716279
A visit to Audubon House and Tropical Gardens is a step back in time to the world of a maritime pilot and master wrecker in mid-19th century Key West. It is located at 205 Whitehead Street in Old Key West, Florida.
Waymark Code: WM12NTM
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 06/23/2020
Views: 3
The grand home that is now known as Audubon House was built by Captain John Huling Geiger in the 1840s as a residence for his family, who lived there for more than a century. Slated for destruction in 1958, the Geiger mansion was saved by the Mitchell Wolfson Family Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization. The home’s large scale restoration was the first of its kind in Key West and sparked Key West’s restoration movement.
Antique enthusiasts will appreciate the fine period furnishings on display throughout the historic home, while art lovers will enjoy viewing the extensive collection of original hand-painted lithographs of famed naturalist John James Audubon in the Audubon House Gallery, separate from the main house.
The house also contains 28 first-edition works of the famous ornithologist. Audubon visited the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas in 1832 and left Key West having sighted and drawn 18 new birds for his "Birds of America" folio. It is believed that many of those drawings were conceived in the Audubon House garden.
The lush gardens are among the best in the Florida Keys, and guests are invited to wander the paved brick pathways among orchids, bromeliads, rare tropical palms and crotons.
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