The Audubon House & Tropical Gardens in Key West

In April 1832, legendary ornithologist and artist John James Audubon arrived in Key West aboard the U.S. Revenue cutter Marion to study and paint the birds of the Florida Keys and Tortugas for his monumental masterwork, The Birds of America.

Audubon spent several weeks exploring the mangroves and shoreline, using Captain John Geiger's garden property as his home base. Captivated by the exotic foliage, Audubon incorporated cuttings from Geiger's garden—including the vibrant orange geiger tree (Cordia sebestena, named by Audubon in Geiger's honor)—into the backgrounds of his famous paintings of the White-crowned Pigeon and Great White Heron. The museum displays 28 original, double-elephant folio Havell edition engravings, considered the finest Audubon prints on public view in the American South.

By the late 1950s, the Geiger home had fallen into severe dereliction and was slated for demolition to make way for a commercial gas station. Horrified by the impending destruction of Key West's historic architecture, local philanthropists Mitchell and Frances Wolfson purchased the property in 1958, carefully restoring the building and founding the Mitchell Wolfson Family Foundation.

The restoration of the Audubon House became the catalyst for the historic preservation movement across Key West, leading to the preservation of hundreds of 19th-century wooden Victorian structures throughout Old Town. Today, the home is decorated with museum-quality European and American antiques dating from 1820 to 1860, including Baccarat crystal chandeliers and hand-carved mahogany four-poster beds.

The grounds behind the mansion are an urban oasis. Shaded by towering royal palms and fruiting sapodilla trees, the brick pathways wind through lush beds of bleeding hearts, orchids, passionflowers, and hibiscus. A restored 1850s kitchen building—built separate from the main house to keep cooking heat and fire danger away from the wooden residence—displays vintage cast-iron hearth stoves, butter churns, and historical household implements.

The garden is also an accredited nursery for native Keys butterfly species and a haven for resident songbirds. Bench seating placed throughout the courtyards provides a remarkably tranquil resting spot during a busy day of sightseeing.