Key West's Audubon House: Where Hurricane History Meets Tropical Paradise

Key West’s Audubon House was built after 1846’s Havana Hurricane ravaged Cuba,  destroying the Sand Key Lighthouse and throwing up a double whammy hurricane punch of high winds and title surge at the Keys.

It destroyed nearly all of the homes in the city, while frequent shipwrecks on the offshore reef created a flourishing ship wrecking industry.

Key West’s first harbor captain and master wrecker John Huling Geiger earned a fortune from this business and began construction on a grand home to serve as a family residence.

The Captain used the best carpenters and the finest materials available for his mansion which was built in the American Classic Revival architectural style.

The wooden frame of the house and the floors are of Dade County Pine,  a now extinct hardwood almost imperious to termites.   The exterior doors are cypress and the staircase is mahogany.

Four generations of the Geiger family lived in the house for nearly 110 years.

In 1958 the Geiger House was slated for demolition to make way for a gas station, when Mitchell Wolfson and his wife Francis bought the house.

The Wolfson family first came to Key West in the 1870s and owned a goods store off Duval Street.

They were influenced by local folklore surrounding famed naturalist John James Audubon’s visit to study and sketch the birds of the Florida Keys Back In 1832.

After a two-year restoration during which time electricity was added to the home,  the Audubon House Museum and Tropical Gardens opened in 1960.

The museum commemorates Audubon’s visit to the Keys having drawn 18 new birds for his “Birds of America” folio.

Like a walk through time, the home is furnished with antiques dating to the first half of the 19th century.

When you wander into the brick pathed gardens,  it’s like walking through a Caribbean Oasis of orchids,  palms and tropical foliage.

The Audubon House is open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.   Admission for adults is $15.00 and Kids 6 to 12 is $5.00.