Free previewStop 4 of Key West Walking Tour: Mallory Square to the Southernmost Point
The Bird Painter Who Never Slept Here
You're on Whitehead Street, at the white three-story house with the deep verandas and the walled garden. Before you go any further, find the tree in the front yard. Locals call it the Geiger tree, and it's the most honest thing on the property.
In 1832, John James Audubon visited the Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas. He was the naturalist and painter trying to draw every bird in America, life-sized, for a giant book called The Birds of America. He left Key West having sighted and drawn 18 birds that were new to his folio.
He also left with cuttings. Audubon liked to paint his birds against real plants, and the plants on one property drew him in. It belonged to Captain John Huling Geiger, the island's first harbor pilot, who had planted beautiful tropical vegetation there. Audubon took cuttings from it and used them as backgrounds.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 4 of Key West Walking Tour: Mallory Square to the Southernmost Point (2 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
