Tennessee Williams Museum

“I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers”.
Tennessee Williams

While meeting an old friend at Antoine’s Restaurant (established in 1840) in New Orleans in 1979, Tennessee and Truman Capote walked in clearly intoxicated.  Recognizing them both I bought their drinks and with the toast, “to the kindness of strangers”, we proceeded to join their wasted state.   Both were openly gay and proceeded to hit on my friend, and myself.  Next thing I see is my friend’s father walks straight to our table after observing the scene and said “My God, that’s my son”.  Laughing till tears, we were dragged back to the French Quarter.

Tennessee first came to Key West in his 30’s in 1941, and loved the gay lifestyle there so much that he moved there permanently until his death in 1983.

The museum is a wonderful trip into the past of one America’s greatest playwrights with an impressive array of memorabilia and pictures.

He wrote The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire, Sweet Bird of Youth, and others, which were made into wonderful films.

Another gem at the end of Route 1!