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The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace is a historic Queen Anne home and museum in
Grandfather Hall, known to the Hemingway children as Abba, was a much-loved family member. In later life, Marcelline Hemingway Sanford, Ernest's older sister, would write about Abba Hall, recalling his kindness, generosity, and entertaining stories that were a delight to young Marcelline and Ernest. Grace's maternal uncle, Tyley Hancock was a frequent visitor to the family home. He would often entertain the children with adventurous stories from his youth and from his travels as a salesman for the Hall family's wholesale cutlery business.
Hemingway's mother Grace, was an operatic singer, voice teacher, and composer. She earned money for the young family by teaching music and voice lessons. Hemingway's father, Clarence, a medical doctor, delivered three of the Hemingway children in an upstairs bedroom of the home. He would consult with medical patients in a small office between the first and second floors. According to Sanford, "It was to the office that Ernest and I were called for punishment when we misbehaved."
Ernest's grandfather died in May 1905, leaving the home to his daughter, Grace. By October, Grace had sold the house to Samuel Nissen, an Oak Park grocer. The Nissen family lived in the North Oak Park Avenue house for fifteen years, replacing the front porch with a screened-in porch in 1914 and later replacing the clapboard exterior with aluminum siding. During the 1920s through the 1940s, the house was converted into a
Hemingway's maternal grandparents, Caroline and Ernest Hall, built the house in 1890 on land they purchased in November 1889. The architect was Wesley Arnold. The Victorian three-story house consisted of first and second floors, a basement, and an attic. The house exterior had wooden clapboard siding with a shingle roof. The house was initially painted gray with darker gray trim. The window trim was a dark green. There was a large open wrap-around porch with open railings that covered the front of the house and the turret on the southeast corner. There was a small open porch in the back that provided access to the kitchen.
On the first floor was an entrance hall with a formal stairway leading to the second floor. There was a long parlor to the left of the hall with a bay window facing the street. The parlor led into the formal dining room. Next to the dining room and parlor was a small library, where Hemingway's grandfather and great-uncle Tyley Hancock would smoke and drink wine after their evening meal. There were oak floors and yellow pine woodwork throughout most of the house, both stained a medium brown.
Water lines had been installed along Oak Park Avenue before the house was built, making it possible for the house to have running water. The kitchen was a small dark room behind the dining room, with a door leading to the back porch, a stairway leading down to the cellar, and a back stairway to the second floor for the servants.
There were six bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. The Hemingway babies would sleep with their mother until they were old enough for the children's nursery. Hemingway and his older sister Marcelline shared the nursery when they were toddlers, sleeping in identical, white cribs with spindles.
Hemingway: The National Book FoundationThe Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum
{{Ernest Hemingway Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway family Oak Park, Illinois Hemingway, Ernest Birthplace
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...
where American author Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
was born. Hemingway lived in the home with his family for the first six years of his life. The house was sold out of the Hemingway family in 1905, and it was subsequently renovated and converted into a multi-family residence.
In December 1992, the house was purchased by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park. The foundation oversaw a major restoration project, using photographs and descriptions of the house to return it to its original condition. Since 2001, the building has been maintained as a Hemingway museum, with the foundation offering guided tours of the house.
History
Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois on July 21, 1899, in a home built by Hemingway's maternal grandparents, Caroline and Ernest Hall. Hemingway was the second child and first son of Dr. Clarence and Grace Hemingway. He lived in the Hall house for the first six years of his life with his parents, maternal grandfather, and three sisters. The house, currently numbered 339 North Oak Park Avenue, was the first home in Oak Park to have electricity. Across the street from the Hall home was the two-story, white clapboard home of Hemingway's paternal grandparents, Anson and Adelaide Hemingway.
Grandfather Hall, known to the Hemingway children as Abba, was a much-loved family member. In later life, Marcelline Hemingway Sanford, Ernest's older sister, would write about Abba Hall, recalling his kindness, generosity, and entertaining stories that were a delight to young Marcelline and Ernest. Grace's maternal uncle, Tyley Hancock was a frequent visitor to the family home. He would often entertain the children with adventurous stories from his youth and from his travels as a salesman for the Hall family's wholesale cutlery business.
Hemingway's mother Grace, was an operatic singer, voice teacher, and composer. She earned money for the young family by teaching music and voice lessons. Hemingway's father, Clarence, a medical doctor, delivered three of the Hemingway children in an upstairs bedroom of the home. He would consult with medical patients in a small office between the first and second floors. According to Sanford, "It was to the office that Ernest and I were called for punishment when we misbehaved."
Ernest's grandfather died in May 1905, leaving the home to his daughter, Grace. By October, Grace had sold the house to Samuel Nissen, an Oak Park grocer. The Nissen family lived in the North Oak Park Avenue house for fifteen years, replacing the front porch with a screened-in porch in 1914 and later replacing the clapboard exterior with aluminum siding. During the 1920s through the 1940s, the house was converted into a rooming house
A rooming house, also called a "multi-tenant house", is a "dwelling with multiple rooms rented out individually", in which the tenants share kitchen and often bathroom facilities. Rooming houses are often used as housing for low-income people, as ...
. The larger living areas and hall were divided and a bathroom was installed on the first floor. In 1951, the house was remodeled again to create a two-family residence.
The house was purchased by The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park (EHFOP) in December 1992. The foundation embarked on a major renovation, using Sanford's description of her grandfather's home. The Ernest Hemingway birthplace was restored to its original 1890s layout, with Victorian period furnishings and original Hemingway family heirlooms. In 2001, the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum was opened to the public. Since 2016, the EHFOP has published ''Hemingway Shorts,'' a literary journal in the tradition of Ernest Hemingway. Notable contributors include Michael McGuire, Jinwoo Chong, Sean Gill
Sean Gill is an Emmy-nominated American writer and film editor.
Education
Gill is a graduate of Oberlin College and Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School. He studied privately with Juan Luis Buñuel.
Television
Gill's television work includes ed ...
, and Veryan Williams-Wynn.
Description
Hemingway's maternal grandparents, Caroline and Ernest Hall, built the house in 1890 on land they purchased in November 1889. The architect was Wesley Arnold. The Victorian three-story house consisted of first and second floors, a basement, and an attic. The house exterior had wooden clapboard siding with a shingle roof. The house was initially painted gray with darker gray trim. The window trim was a dark green. There was a large open wrap-around porch with open railings that covered the front of the house and the turret on the southeast corner. There was a small open porch in the back that provided access to the kitchen.
On the first floor was an entrance hall with a formal stairway leading to the second floor. There was a long parlor to the left of the hall with a bay window facing the street. The parlor led into the formal dining room. Next to the dining room and parlor was a small library, where Hemingway's grandfather and great-uncle Tyley Hancock would smoke and drink wine after their evening meal. There were oak floors and yellow pine woodwork throughout most of the house, both stained a medium brown.
Water lines had been installed along Oak Park Avenue before the house was built, making it possible for the house to have running water. The kitchen was a small dark room behind the dining room, with a door leading to the back porch, a stairway leading down to the cellar, and a back stairway to the second floor for the servants.
There were six bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. The Hemingway babies would sleep with their mother until they were old enough for the children's nursery. Hemingway and his older sister Marcelline shared the nursery when they were toddlers, sleeping in identical, white cribs with spindles.
See also
* Ernest and Mary Hemingway House, Ketchum, Idaho *Ernest Hemingway Cottage
The Ernest Hemingway Cottage, also known as Windemere, was the boyhood summer home of author Ernest Hemingway, on Walloon Lake in Michigan. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968. and
History
In about 1898, Dr. Clarence H ...
, Walloon Lake, Michigan
*Ernest Hemingway House
The Ernest Hemingway House was the residence of American writer Ernest Hemingway in the 1930s. The house is situated on the island of Key West in Florida. It is at 907 Whitehead Street, across from the Key West Lighthouse, close to the southern ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
* * * *External links
Hemingway: The National Book Foundation
{{Ernest Hemingway Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway family Oak Park, Illinois Hemingway, Ernest Birthplace