This realistic Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum Guide helps you plan your next visit to this house museum.

The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum is a historic house museum in Oak Park, Illinois. It protects a legacy of one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

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Sights & Places of Interest

The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum preserves the house where the 1954 Nobel Prize winning writer spent his first 6 years.

The house dates back to 1890. It is an example of the Queen Anne architectural style, just like Lilienthal House in San Francisco, California.

You could admire this house museum from Oak Park Avenue year round and free of charge. But you would need to join a guided tour for a deeper exploration.

The tour could help you go back in time to Oak Park in early 20th century. There are a few original items in the house. A handful of displayed items did not belong to Hemingway but date back to the same time.

This Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum Guide follows the path of the main Birthplace Tour.

1. Parlor

Every tour starts at the Museum Shop. You would need to check in there. Show your advance reservation to a museum employee or get a ticket for the next available tour.

The house tour begins at the top of the hour. Your tour guide will bring you to a Parlor after a quick introduction. This is the room where you will spend the majority of the tour.

In part, it has to do with the interior design of the house. The Parlor is the biggest room. It is one of the few rooms that could fit all of the tour participants.

The other reason has to do with the structure of the tour. The house is less of a focus of the discussion. Instead, you will learn a lot more about the family history.

The guide will introduce the notable items in the Parlor. They will then tie these items to the stories from Ernest Hemingway’s childhood. This would be a common thing throughout the tour.

A grand piano is the centerpiece of the Parlor. A fireplace with a wooden mantel kept the Hemingway family warm during the winter. There are also two sitting areas with a couch and chairs.

2. Dining Room

The Parlor connects to the Dining Room. A stag head on the wall is impossible to miss. This massive head with antlers steals attention from other items in the Dining Room.

But there is a lot to see there beyond the stag display. This room has has a small dining table and a few additional dining chairs. The craftsmanship is on full display at the carved wooden backs of the chairs.

A dinner set is on the table. A corner display cabinet houses a few additional items of dinnerware. A wooden fireplace mantel displays a few other plates and jugs.

Nearly every wall has a painting or a picture. The windows have embroidered lace curtains. But the lighting fixture dates to a later period. It is the only item in the room that seems a bit out of place.

Your tour guide will spend a few minutes in this room. But the tour will start to pick up pace following a longer stop in the Parlor.

3. Kitchen

The Dining Room connects to the Ground Floor Hallway and the Kitchen. This Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum Guide continues in the kitchen.

The Kitchen has another display cabinet, a couple of tables, a stove, and an oven. There are a handful of historic pieces throughout this room.

But staging items make up the majority of displays in the Kitchen. Fake bread, vegetables, and pickled jars should help younger visitors better imagine the life in the early 20th century.

The Kitchen has a staircase to the second floor. But there is one more room to explore on the ground floor before heading upstairs.

4. Study

The Study is a small room near the Kitchen. You could even see a part of the second staircase taking up part of the ceiling in this room.

The Study is across the Hallway from the Dining Room and Parlor. This room has a round table, a bookcase, and a small piano.

Paintings, prints, and document displays round up the list of items in the study. Since this room is tiny, your tour guide will likely spend little to no time there.

5. Second Floor Hallway

Having visited all the ground floor rooms, you will soon be underway to the second floor. The main staircase brings you upstairs to a narrow Hallway.

This Hallway connects all the rooms on the second floor. You could explore 5 different bedrooms and the only bathroom in the house. An exploration sequence differs slightly depending on your tour guide.

The Hallway has a bright wallpaper with broad red and white stripes. This is the only room that uses this pattern. It looks more like a soccer jersey than your typical wallpaper.

In fact, most rooms in this house museum have colorful yet distinct wallpaper and carpets. You could always tell what room the item belongs to when sorting through the pictures.

There are a lot of historic exhibits in the hallway. Nearly every inch (cm) of the wall has framed pictures or documents. Since the hallway is small you will be studying these items largely on your own.

6. Bedroom 1

The first Bedroom is fairly small. It has just enough space for a twin bed, a corner display cabinet, and an open shelving unit.

There are very few things to see in this room outside of books and a Lincoln bust. But you will likely remember this room thanks to a large fish display on the wall.

The corner display cabinets are a signature design element of the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum. They provided the family with storage space without consuming valuable real estate.

This Bedroom has another door opposite of the display cabinet. This door is off limits to the public. You cannot use it. Exit the Bedroom through the same entrance back to the Hallway.

7. Bedroom 2

The connecting Bedroom is another small room. It has two cribs, a chest of drawers, and a small rocking chair. A series of drawings are hanging on the wall.

Just like the previous room, there are few historic items here. Your tour guide might not spend much time in this room before going to the next Bedroom.

8. Bedroom 3

The third Bedroom is quite spacious. It is above the Parlor near the Dining Room. This Bedroom is closest to a master bedroom in its modern definition.

It does not have a direct connection to a bathroom. But this should not surprise you. Bathrooms were a luxury back in the 19th century. Yet, there is a spacious closet and a direct connection to the nursery.

This room has another double bed and a crib. Ernest Hemingway was born in this bedroom on July 21, 1899. This crib is a place where little Ernest spent his first days and months.

You could see some clothing items and a stuffed animal toy from that time. This room looks a bit like the Nichols House Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.

9. Bedroom 4

The fourth Bedroom in the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum is more spacious than most second floor rooms. In fact, it could probably be as big as a few other bedrooms combined.

This room is directly above the parlor. This setup provides space for a sitting area. A couch and another rocking chair make the sitting area quite cozy.

The room has its own fireplace with a forged screen. The mantel serves as a display shelf for a few paintings and exhibits.

The other side of the room is just enough to fit a double bed and a tiny nightstand. The wallpaper has a an enlarged flower pattern.

A small lamp lightens this bedroom with a warm glow. The number of lamps in the Ernest Hemingway House could rival Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California.

10. Bedroom 5

The fifth and last Bedroom in the Ernest Hemingway House is slightly smaller than the previous two rooms. It has a twin bed, a crib, and a display cabinet.

This bedroom has the least flashy wallpaper pattern among all the rooms in the museum. It is somewhat similar to the houses of a latter time, like the Texas White House in Stonewall, Texas.

This Bedroom tends to leave a lasting impression on the museum visitors. There is an easy explanation. Few house museums have human skulls and bones on display.

Children and adults visiting this museum usually spend a couple of minutes studying these pieces. You should not expect a long narration in this room. You will be on your own when visiting the fifth Bedroom.

11. Bathroom

A Bathroom is the last room on the second floor that is open to public. It is the only bathroom in the entire house. There is a free standing bathtub and a small sink in the Bathroom.

Take a look at the metal and glass candle holder next to the sink. It was utility item to have in a bathroom. This candle holder was in use before the house had electric lighting.

The Bathroom marks the end of the Birthplace House tour. The guide will then bring the group downstairs. You could check out the small museum shop or finish your visit to the museum.

Continue with this Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum Guide. You will learn more about ways to get to the sights, entrance requirements, and places to stay.

Getting to Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum

The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum is at 339 N Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. The museum is in a beautiful residential community just west of Chicago.

Oak Park is almost exactly halfway between the two major airports in Chicago. Yet, going via the Chicago Loop will still be the fastest way from either ORD or MDW. 70 to 90 minutes is hardly a fast connection.

A drive from either Chicago airport takes less than 30 minutes. Account for traffic and parking scarcity when going with a rental car as your travel mode in Chicago.

You could reach this house museum by car and public transport. There is not designated parking near the museum. But you could often find street parking a few blocks away.

Public transport to the Ernest Hemingway Museum is mostly subway and trains. While you could take a bus to the museum, it will not be the fastest or the most convenient way.

The museum is 0.4 miles (0.6 km) from Oak Park subway station. A ride on the Green Line train from the Loop takes less than 30 minutes. A one-way ticket is $2.5. Get a daily pass at $5 to cover a return trip.

You could also take a Metra train to the museum. But it is a less convenient option. The service is more expensive, less frequent, and the stations are further away.

You will reach Oak Park train station in 16 minutes from Ogilvie Transportation Center. A train ride costs $4.25 each way. A daily pass is $6. The museum is 0.8 miles (1.3 km) northeast of the station.

Where to Stay near Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum

Oak Park has a couple of places to stay close to the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum. Carleton of Oak Park is a historic hotel within a walking distance of the subway station and the museum.

This hotel is right in the center of Oak Park. It has a convenient location for trying out a deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. Or you could stay true to the writer theme and dine at Hemmingway’s Bistro.

But your options are quite limited if this hotel does not work out with your preferences or budget. You would need to search for a place to stay further east, west, or north.

Chicago Loop is the neighborhood to stay in if you plan on exploring Chicago via public transport. An easy subway connection makes it a great option when visiting the Ernest Hemingway House Museum.

Elmhurst is west of Oak Park. A Union Pacific West (UP-W) Metra train connects the two communities. Yet, this village has very few notable places to stay.

SpringHill Suites by Marriott Chicago Elmhurst Oakbrook Area is the only exception. But it takes nearly 40 minutes to reach this hotel from Elmhurst train station.

Communities north and west of Oak Park are better if a rental car is your primary transport in Chicago. Check out places to stay near O’Hare Airport and in Oak Brook.

Burr Ridge, Elk Grove Village, and Schaumburg are the furthest suburbs where you could stay in the Chicago area. Going even further away will mean very long travel times to the sights.

Aloft Chicago Schaumburg and Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Chicago Schaumburg are the best options in these communities.

Entrance Requirements & Passes

You could only visit the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum as part of a tour. The museum is closed on the main federal public holidays and Easter Sunday.

The tours run Friday to Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday has longer opening hours since the museum opens at 10 a.m. You could also visit the museum on Thursdays during the summer.

The museum offers one house tour and a few specialty tours. Here is a summary of available tours for you to choose from.

• Birthplace Tour:
  • Description: Main house museum tour.
  • Duration: 45 to 50 minutes, often runs late.
  • Cadence: about 4 tours a day on the hour when the museum is open.
  • Admission: $20 per adult, $18 per senior, student, or youth, free for children younger than 10.
• Birthplace Tour (Spanish):
  • Description & Duration: same as the Birthplace Tour in English.
  • Cadence: two tours a month at 12 p.m. on select summer Fridays.
  • Admission: $20 per adult, senior, student, and youth, free for children under 10.
• Birthplace Virtual Tour:
  • Description: Similar to the in-person house tour but run virtually.
  • Duration: 45 to 50 minutes.
  • Cadence: by appointment only.
  • Admission: $15 per the first adult, $5 per additional visitor in the same group.
• Oak Park Walking Tour:
  • Description: Outdoor walking tour of the surrounding neighborhood.
  • Duration: 90 minutes.
  • Cadence: two tours a month at 11 a.m. on select summer Fridays.
  • Admission: $40 per adult (includes a book copy), $20 per additional visitor in the same group.
  • Other: Add the Birthplace Tour on the same day at $10 per person.

The museum recommends advance reservations for all tours. But you have to register at least 24 hours in advance for the Birthplace Tour in Spanish. The Virtual Tour also requires an early outreach.

Takeaways: Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum

The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum is a nice house museum. Diehard Hemingway fans could find the tour eye-opening on the writer’s formative years. But other visitors might not find it as riveting.

A 130-year old example of the Queen Anne style will be of interest to the architecture and history lovers. But at $20 per adult, you might be better off touring the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright House and Studio.

The Frank Lloyd Wright House Museum tour is about 15 minutes longer, yet more structured and informative. And it costs the same $20 per person to enjoy.

The Birthplace Tour tends to run over. Keep it in mind if you book back-to-back tours at the Ernest Hemingway Museum and the Frank Lloyd Wright House.

The steep tour price hardly justifies the 45 to 50 minute tour. It is one of the most expensive house museums in the US. You will learn more about Ernest Hemingway but little about the house itself.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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