I am not a huge Ernest Hemingway fan. To be fair, I am not a huge classics fan. However, I love learning about famous people so Ernst Hemingway's birthplace ended up on the bucket list. After much rearranging of the schedule, we opted to visit Hemingway's birthplace and Frank Lloyd Wright House before heading to the zoo. In hindsight, this was the right decision.
Ernest Hemingway Birthplace is located in Oak Park, IL. It is open Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays 1-5 and Saturdays 10-5. Tours cost $20/adult and last about 50 minutes. Parking is available on the street in the neighborhood.
Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899 to an aspiring opera singer mother and physician father. Throughout the tour, you learn about the Ernst's young life and his family. The home was renovated back to the time when the Hemingway family lived there in the early 1900s. Our tour guide was amazing and gave us a in depth look at young Ernst's life in Oak Park.
This is the only tour I remember where you actually can sit on the furniture in most of the rooms.
Since it was the turn of the 20th century, it was at the crossroad of the industrial revolution and the Victorian Era. The house was wired for electricity and was on of the first homes to have a phone in the area. It also had indoor plumbing. The light fixtures were designed to use oil in the upward facing globes and light bulbs in the downward facing bulbs.
Taking this tour made me appreciate Hemingway and his work so much more. My boss was jealous of me getting to go here and I know why. The man is fascinating.
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone regardless if you are Hemingway fan. It was fascinating.
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