This was a WONDERFUL historic tour. We purchased our tickets in advance, but I got the sense that tours could sell out if not purchased in advance. We were also told that they close early if they don't sell tickets to the last tour of the day (4:00pm). Even though Ernest Hemingway only lived in this home for the first six years of his life, the tour guide (Sue) was SO informative about the Hemingway family history and life in the house that we felt as if we knew so much about the author by the time the tour was over. Sue was extremely knowledgeable about the house, local history, and what life was like during Hemingway's lifetime. She could answer most of our questions as well. Most of the furnishings in the home are from the time period rather than actual belongings of the Hemingways but there are a few items donated by family members of obtained by the organization and these were pointed out during the tour. One of the nice things about this tour is that there are places to sit during most of the tour and there is an elevator for those who cannot climb stairs. This is unusual for a historic home and makes the tour accessible for all. The tour is just under an hour and I highly recommend it for those who love Hemingway, or history. read more

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The Ernest Hemingway Birth Home is in a beautiful area within the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. We visited here recently and took a very interesting tour. On the tour we learned quite a bit about both "Papa" Hemingway and his family. Tip: Legend has it that when Ernest Hemingway was in his late 20s, he started telling people to call him "Papa" because he hated his given name; it's not clear why he chose that particular moniker. Our very capable and personable tour guide shared many facts and answered numberous questions, including "is the house haunted?" The organization that runs this place has done a wonderful job of restoring Papa's home to it's original glory and putting many interesting artifacts on display within. We bought our tickets for the tour online, and even managed to reschedule the starting time that way with no muss or fuss; we received an email confirming the new start time. Traffic on the day of the our tour was so horrendous that we were a few minutes late, but we called from the car and they were kind enough to wait for us before they started the tour :-) read more

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Where Hemingway was born and spent his early formative years. The home deteriorated through the years, so there are only a few pieces originally from the home when Hemingway lived there (including the crib from his infancy). The docent was very knowledgeable about the Hemingway history. We learned a lot about about his grandparents and parents. A lot about the influence his father had on his life, teaching him about hunting, camping, and nature. How his mother taught him music and the arts. How his grandfather told stories and had Ernest practice storytelling himself. And you learn a lot about Hemingway himself and how his Puritanical family shunned his work because of the curse words and sex. You really start to see how his upbringing shaped his adulthood. The tour lasts about an hour, maybe a little less. 20 dollars. Plenty of street parking. Very close to the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio as well as many other FLW projects, so you could make a day in Oak Park. read more

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I have been in Chicago 17 years and I had not been here! Since I was in the area for my annual tax meeting I decided to stop by, it was a lovely day. I joined the already started tour with one person already going, the tour guide was very lovely and gave a great presentation throughout the house. It's lovingly restored and a feast for the eyes with some original artifacts and reconstruction from the very detailed list of items that Hemingway's mother left behind. The controversial dressing of him as a girl was a fun story, the artifacts of his doctor father (who went to my medical center as a trainee, I learned! and invented spinal forceps). At the end there was a meaningful discussion of mental illness, they family history of depression and suicide, effects of TBI, which was a welcome and open nice discussion. A couple of medical facts I think should be corrected, it was implied that hemochromatosis caused cognitive issues (it does not, it is a peripheral disease, not central), also the mention of ECT was presented in a way as if it were a shameful antiquated harmful treatment (in reality, it is generally not, and we still use it today for refractory patients successfully). There is a nice selection of books and the staff working there are so very nice and funny, great to chat with everyone! read more

This is a very short tour and not really worth the price, but you could get into the Hemingway museum a few blocks down with your admission so that's cool. I learned a lot during the time I was there, and it was an interesting tour and a pretty cool house. I had to come here for a class I was taking in college, but honestly, I probably will never visit again. The positive thing is that they allow you to take as many pictures as you want, and there is a small gift shop at the beginning of the tour where you buy the tickets where you can buy little pins and bookmarks. The tour guide I had was very knowledgeable, but she was monotone and scared me a little. I kinda wished we were able to have iPads for the tour like in Elvis's house in Memphis. read more

Ernest Hemingway Birth Home - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Sue is a great storyteller and shared many great details of the house, family & times. We enjoyed it very much!

We enjoyed seeing a blast from the past and how people lived back in the day. One bathroom for five bedrooms, wow. Earnest Hemingway did not have an easy life, but good life. read more

This is a really great place to visit when in Oak Park Il. The docent team offers an in depth tour of the home Hemingway was born in. Lots of insight into the events that guided Ernest's life. My time was well spent. Thanks to Connie and the team there read more

Ernest Hemingway Birth Home - Parlor on main level - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

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My friend Tim was visiting this weekend and that always means adventures to places I haven't been before. We passed the Hemingway Birthplace on our return trip from the Stephan A. Douglas gravesite and we had the time, so we hopped off 290 and scooted over to the house. The house is in good shape and it's filled with period furniture and lots of Hemingway photos. The tour is good and the guide was knowledgeable and very interactive. The volunteers there encourage visitors to take all the photos you want and they even have the front porch set up for visitors to sit down if you want to. The only negative to this very informative tour is the price. For adults, it's $15 each. They do offer ways you can get small discounts, like if you are a member of AAA. If you have the time and the ability to get there, I'd recommend you seeing this location. read more

My family and I (2 adults, 1 child) went to the 1:00 tour of the Hemingway home today. The docent wore her mask UNDER HER NOSE for the duration of the tour, including when 5 of us (minus me) were crowded into some very small rooms. She also: 1) Seemed incapable of answering any question that wasn't in her script (including the stumper, "Are these chairs made of horsehair?" Her answer, btw, was "Oh I've never heard them called that before!"); 2) Cheerfully admitted that she can't hear anyone and needs hearing aids but for some mysterious reason does not have them; 3) Felt it appropriate to announce that Hemingway is "not [her] favorite writer"; 4) Spent waaaayyyyyy too much time on the restoration of the house and every little object and photograph in it, stories about every grandparent and uncle but NOT the man himself, and at 1:45 asked if we "had anywhere important to be at 2:00, because I could go on for another hour." At 1:58 pm. (I checked), she FINALLY got around to discussing Hemingway's life and career "He went all over the world and had adventures and got in several accidents." "No wonder he killed himself!" another visitor joked, and then they both laughed. Disgusting. Not a single mention of his childhood, or what Grace did to him, or any sort of coherent chronological narrative of his life and work. Yes I expected the focus to be on the home, but guess how many people would be on that tour if not for the man himself? I really didn't expect him to be relegated to the final two minutes. Also did I mention the part where she wore her mask UNDER HER NOSE for the duration of the tour, and allowed another visitor to do the same. So now my family has possibly been exposed to COVID-19 And believe me, it wasn't worth the risk. read more

We were in Oak Park to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright House and Studio this past weekend and decided to stop by the Ernest Hemingway Birth Home since it was so close. Our tour guide was Bob, who was very, very nice, but the tour wasn't really a hit for anyone in our group. The tour was meant to be 45 minutes, but Bob asked if anyone needed to be somewhere soon after and warned us that he often goes for longer. I didn't think much of this, because we weren't super pressed for time given how close the FLW House and Studio is from the Ernest Hemingway Birth Home. I want to be clear: Bob knows A LOT about Ernest Hemingway and the Hemingway family. And he seems to really have a passion for what he does. And I think the wanted to impart that passion to us. However, Bob shared a few too many stories. I say that because we spent over 30 minutes (someone in our group thought it was 40 minutes) in the first room of the house. The tour is meant to be 45 minutes, but we stood in a single room for over 30 of those minutes. The Hemingway family only lived in the house until Ernest was five, but we got back stories all the way to grandparents. I feel like I read a book on Ernest Hemingway's family tree. I wanted to find everything as interesting as Bob clearly did, but we all just felt that the tour went on way too long. Given that Ernest Hemingway only lived in the house for his first five years, I think a much shorter tour is appropriate. Beyond that, at $15 per adult, this was pretty pricey. While I appreciated Bob's enthusiasm, I can only recommend this experience to someone that is really, really, really interested in Ernest Hemingway and would like to learn stories about all of his family members. read more

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Overall my visit here was slightly above average. My main reason for giving this historic home a lower rating is primarily due to the lack of authenticity-- that is, the home is largely filled with reproduction pieces rather than originals. While the guides do point this out, the feeling one gets walking through the home is that the reproductions were not carefully researched or selected despite the museum having numerous photographs of the interior of the home from when the Hemingway family resides there. This point is further driven home by the fact that you can sit on nearly every available chair in every single room throughout the tour. The one positive note is that the guides really know the history of Ernest Hemingway and his family as well as information about his early years spent in this home. The tour is laced with anecdotes and stories about the family and how they used the home which are all very interesting. The cost of entry is a bit on the steep side for what you get at $15 per person. There are slight discounts available for seniors and students. If you're a Hemingway fan,than this home is a definite must on your tour list. read more

Ernest Hemingway Birth Home - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Fun and informative tour, worth the drive out of Chicago. Our guide clearly knew the house and was very nice! read more

Ernest Hemingway Birth Home - The house! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

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It was a fantastic and informational tour! Our tour guide gave the tour in the form of storytelling and it was absolutely great. The staff is nice and parking is easy to find. read more

Interesting tour though some may find the $20 price per person a bit steep considering the tour is much shorter than the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright Studio & Home tour & the price is the same BUT the price of admission also gets you into the rather large Ernest Hemingway museum just a couple blocks down from his birth home. If you are a Hemingway fan you'll definitely want to check out both the home & the museum (tickets are sold at the home). The young gentleman who gave our tour was very informative and was open to answering additional questions regarding the home & Hemingway. Their website, however, is quite basic and could use some work to add additional information. read more

We've been meaning to visit this home for a while now and we finally did so last weekend. We had Bob as our tour guide, who gave us the 'Cadillac of tours' with great details and anecdotes of Hemingway's grandparents, parents, and childhood in Oak Park. Although much of the furniture wasn't original, the museum does a fantastic job recreating the ambiance it had over a 100 years ago. If you're a Hemingway fan, this place should definitely be on your list. The best part? Asking Bob any Hemingway question and he'll dive into the answer like sharing a story he was waiting to tell you. Tip: We traveled with our three month old daughter. You can leave your bags at the front where the receptionist will watch it for you. We left our stroller there too and carried our child throughout the tour. Favorite part? The library. Ask about the authenticity of the taxidermy! read more

This tour was...not for me. I went here on a whim after visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio (which is only a few blocks away). I really enjoyed that tour and this one just didn't hold up in comparison. The Positives: -The house itself is gorgeous. Beautifully restored and they even have some pieces that actually belonged to the Hemingway family. I was shocked to see that! -It was pretty cool to see the exact room where Ernest was born -Our tour guide was very nice and seemed to genuinely love Ernest Hemingway The Negatives: -The pacing of this tour was WAY off for me. Our tour ended up being 15 minutes longer than planned, mostly because we spent SO much time in the same 2 rooms. And that was only because we heard many long stories about Hemingway's grandparents. Some of the stories were okay, but others I didn't really see how they connected back to Ernest or his life. Maybe a serious Hemingway fan would find these stories interesting, but I was bored a lot. -Some of the comments made on the tour didn't sit well with me. Our guide spent a LONG time talking about the fact that Ernest's mother dressed him in "girls clothes." The guide made a passing remark about this being common in the Victorian era (which is true), but then continued to make a joke of it and even suggested that this might have been the reason for Ernest's "sexual fetishes" and why he couldn't keep a wife. I have no idea if any of this was accurate or if it was just the tour guide speculating, but it really caught me off guard and upset me. I will say that there was another tour being given in Spanish and that group looked to be having a lot more fun than I had. So maybe it comes down to the tour guide? Overall, I'd say you don't need to go out of your way to come here, but if you're a Hemingway fan, you might find it enjoyable. read more

This is a real hidden treasure. I had no idea Hemingway family was so noble. I found out about it in an hour more than I ever knew. This place is a must for people who are not only interested in Hemingway as a writer but also want to know how did he grew up and who influenced him. I will definitely come back here. It's not too far from down town of Oak Park - a good place to be at itself. read more

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"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love." -Ernest Hemingway I arrived originally at the museum location and they said to go buy tickets at the birth home. So I walked just a few blocks on a beautiful July day and they let me in to his birth home after they opened at 1pm. It was $15 for the 45 minute guided tour. They let you take as many photos as you want, with or without flash. You also get access to the museum two times for one year. You also get a pretty neat little metal tab with a quote from Hemingway. Mine was "man can be destroyed but not defeated." I thought that was a nice touch! At the entrance, there is a little shop at the entrance. Not too many items to choose from for little gifts, but they had a ton of books. I would recommend they invest in more little gift options like his famous quotes on a magnet, bookmark, or mug. Sue was the tour guide for a small group of 5. She was energetic and knew her stuff. I thought she did a nice job. The home is a mix of original items and other items from the era. Ernest was only there until he was about 5, but it's still so interesting what you learn about his grandfather, father, mother, and sister. I recommend you try it to get your nerd on, for sure. read more

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I had such a great time on Barb:s very knowledgeable tour. It is a very well presented home of historical significance. Because of so much photographic reference, the preservation is spot on. As an Architectural historian, I really enjoyed the richness of the warmth from being a family home. Bravo! Definitely worth a visit whether you love history, old homes and/or Hemingway. read more

When I was in High School there was a total mean girl who earned the nickname "Lady Brett" for her antics with other girls' boyfriends. Yes, I hung out with the nerds. So it was only a matter of time that I visit the birth home of the man whose book inspired us and now I wonder why it took me so long. A friend and I were in Oak Park to pay homage to the man whose first wife is the subject of the current hot literary tome, The Paris Wife. The libraries have all kinds of activities planned to broaden the themes in the biography and this visit was included amongst them. I am glad I visited the museum first, it gave a broad perspective to the narrower view of Hemingway's early years. Love Hemingway? You will come here to worship. Hate him? You might become a bit more tolerant as you learn about his mother. Like old houses and the Victorian era? This is a well preserved jewel. Enjoy the houseand maybe you will get to see passionate tour guides have little spats over territory as you learn about one of our legends of American History. Great place to visit in a great town. read more

I love Hemingway. Sometimes, in my own head, I'm Lady Brett Ashley. Shh. Excellent tour guides, very well-read. After visiting this house- I feel closer to the source of the great Hemingway's hyper-macho mindset... The frills, lace doilies everywhere, the very high-pitched songs... Wow. I want to go to a safari, drink my expatriate comrades under a bar and pose for the Parisian bohemian literati too... bring a discreet flask and make a respectful toast to the pioneer of the Lost Generation. read more

I know way more about Hemingway's prewriting life than most people should ever think exists. This tour was a lot of fun for me. When examining Hemingway's life for scholarly pursuits I learned the basics. The tour of this home taught my a lot more. In touring the home, I learned much more about Hemingway than I ever thought I would. The house, I have to admit, is less than original. It's mostly restored by the Hemingway Foundation using photographs taken by the late Dr. Clarence Edmond Hemingway. But the house is extremely authentic. The tour guides are well informed, know the insides and outs of Baba, Ernest and Marcelline. The guides are also knowledgeable of Hemingway on a literary level, my tour guide spoke specifically of Grace Hall Hemingway's opinion of The Sun Also Rises on our tour, as well he laughed at my mention of The Garden of Eden during the tour. I highly recommend the tour to anyone interested in either literature or Chicago born native artists. Plus, the house is a beautiful window into Victorian life in Chicago-land during the early 1900's. read more

Interesting tour of an older home but not worth the price. Susan was our tour guide and we almost fell asleep within the first 15 minutes of the tour. Susan has a very low, monotone voice and kept saying "Ah" between sentences. Susan can be identified by the black valise she clutches. While Susan is a subject matter expert, she requires improvement in her delivery. read more

Incredible people and very worth it! Very knowledgeable and not expensive, they have discounts for students and even if you want to just take a look at the house they're very nice and will tell you great jokes! read more

Just visited from Seattle and seeing quite a bit of FLW stuff. This is a refreshing non-architecture tour, although the house IS a beautiful example of Victorian queen Anne style. The people are more than nice and I would recommend this to fans of any type of American history read more

We really enjoyed the tour, although the $15 per person charge is a tad steep.

beautiful piece of Oak Park history. I took a tour a few months ago, and learned much more than I could've imagined about Ernest Hemingway and his family - the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and even gave insights into how Ernest's earliest home could have shaped his young mind and inspired the literary landscape he later created. I recommend checking this site out if you live in the burbs or are visiting oak park :) read more

Great discovery in Oak Park! Don't forget to pay a visit after your Frank Lloyd Wright tour!

We had a wonderful experience on our recent trip to Chicago. Any Hemingway fan needs to visit. The staff was incredibly warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable. Our tour guide, Matt, did an incredible job walking us through the events in the Hemingway family's lives. We were also very impressed with the map that had other important Hemingway sites in Oak Park. It was a great afternoon in a beautiful town. read more

It was such a waste of time. You could not just go and look around the house. You have to spend over 45 minutes for the tour. I guess it depends on your tour guide but we had a really bad one. He started out from talking about his grandparents how they end up in this neighborhood. He was going on and on about that for over 20 minutes at the entrance of the house. We were there for over 45 minutes and only at the first bedroom, we just couldn't stand it any longer and just took off. Hemingway moved out this house when he was 5 years old, they should make their tour shorter, like 20 minutes. read more

I've toured many homes like this, but Bob Glass far out did ever tour guide I've ever had. He's extremely knowledgable about the Hemingway family. The house is beautiful; well worth the price of entrance! read more

A very informative tour. Really appreciated the information provided during the tour. Good collection of how they restored his home in addition to early life read more

Loved the tour I received at this house! The docent showed great care and passion for every part of her tour and displayed a very meticulous knowledge of its history and Hemingway's life. The upkeep of the house was phenomenal for a house museum of its size. Great for any lover of history and writing, or anyone visiting the area. It inspired me to go right home and read The Sun Also Rises again! read more

Fascinating look into the childhood of the great writer and late Victorian society in general. A real find.