Audubon House and Tropical Gardens - Key West, Florida

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The Audubon House and Tropical Gardens is the Gem of the Key West Restoration Movement. The Audubon House and Tropical Gardens offers a relaxing, peaceful environment for families and groups and is an educational experience to be treasured in Key West, Florida. The 19th Century house was built by Captain John H. Geiger in an era when shipwrecks occurred daily and pirates roamed the seas. The house contains 28 first edition works by noted ornithologist John James Audubon. Audubon visited Key West in 1832 and had sighted and drawn 18 new birds for his “Birds of America” collection. Visitors today can enjoy the surroundings that inspired Audubon’s work and learn about the various flora and fauna of this tropical island off the coast of Florida.

The Audubon House and Tropical Gardens features a variety of educational programs for the entire family, including art lessons and tours of the home that was slated for demolition in the 1950s but saved by the Michel Wolfson Family Foundation.

Antique enthusiasts will appreciate the wide variety of furnishings purchased for the home at estate auctions in Europe. The house is typical of the well-appointed homes that flourished in the 1800s on Key West and is preserved for today so people can get a real feel for how life on the island was during its heyday. The house also features the Audubon Gallery of Fine Art with some of John James Audubon’s finest work on display.

Audio tours of the house and gardens are available with actors portraying the voices of Captain Geiger, his wife and his children to give visitors a truly immersive experience of day-to-day life in this beautiful home. The tour continues into the lush and beautiful tropical gardens. This is considered to be one of the finest tropical gardens in the Florida Keys and visitors are encouraged to take their time and really drink in the beauty that these gardens have.

The gardens are dotted with orchids and bromeliads mixed in with the natural foliage of the island. Visitors can make their way leisurely along the brick paths and discover they are sharing it with darting geckos that appear from nowhere. The gardens feature an herb garden and a 1840s-style nursery that gives visitors a historic perspective on gardening as it was done in that time period. Native plants and exotics dot the landscape and are clearly labeled for the education of all visitors.

The Audubon House and Tropical Gardens is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Audubon House and Tropical Gardens
205 Whitehead St
Key West, FL 33040
(305) 294-2116