Key West Lighthouse and Keeper’s Quarters

Key West Lighthouse and Keeper’s Quarters is a historic lighthouse and maritime museum in Bahama Village, across Whitehead Street from the Hemingway Home. A visit pairs the keeper’s restored home and exhibits with a climb up the tower. It’s a good stop for Key West history and a high view; leave time for both the rooms and the climb.

The tower has 88 steep, narrow spiral steps and no air conditioning, so the climb can feel close on a hot day. The payoff is a broad look across Key West and the nearshore water. The grounds and Keeper’s Quarters are ADA accessible, but the tower isn’t; if stairs or heights are a problem, the museum rooms still make a worthwhile visit.

The first Key West lighthouse began shining in 1826, with Barbara Mabrity as keeper. The 1846 hurricane destroyed that tower. The replacement opened at its present site in 1848, and Mabrity returned to tend it. She served 38 years across the two lights and retired in 1864 at age 82, a remarkable stretch of service through two very different lighthouses.

The current keeper’s residence dates to 1887. Its rooms hold historic furnishings, photographs and original lighthouse artifacts, including a first-order Fresnel lens from Sombrero Key Lighthouse. The Society restored the house and lighthouse to their early twentieth-century appearance, so the exhibits give you a feel for the working home as well as the equipment.

The upper observation area opens onto the island and surrounding water. On the grounds, the lofty fig tree makes a distinctive photo backdrop. The tower is inland rather than on the shore, which is part of the point: you’re looking over Old Town from above it.

The museum is at 938 Whitehead Street, directly across from the Hemingway Home, and charges admission. There is dedicated parking at the site, with paid neighborhood lots nearby if it fills. Restrooms are in the museum store.