I always rate things based on their price to experience ratio and for a VERY inexpensive museum, we got so much out of it. The Custom House has a bit of history and a bit of art. It was a mix of everything Florida Keys.The exhibits were modern and well taken care of. It is small but well organizerd and fast people like us can be done in 45-60 min but people who love to read every plaque could spend a few hours.There were multiple sanitation stations throughout for killing that COVID. The ticket master up front spent almost 10 minutes talking us through the layout and history. We learned so much before even walking in.Definitely worth the visit in our opinion. Do not go in expecting the Met in NYC, but honestly the best small attraction in Key West.

Excellent museum focused on US history as Cayo Hueso developed into Key West, from early salvage and shipping to the taking of Ft Taylor by 44 Union soldiers to the berthing and later explosion of the Maine to Flagler’s railroad to Hemingway, all located in the red brick customs house. With models, artifacts from Hemingway, and new exhibits from local artists, if you only see one site to understand the Keys, this is it.

Staff was friendly and the building had super nice air conditioning! The building, in itself, had a history to it but some of the art was not to our liking. We still enjoyed the visit. Young children would probably get board easy because its mostly reading.

I expressly searched out the more unusual Key West attractions during my visit, and this was a wonderful example. Loved the different rooms and the varied historical information. The illustrations of The Old Man and the Sea going up to the top floor were amazing and heartbreaking. The gift shop offered quite a selection of unusual, well-priced items. A lovely way to spend an afternoon.

This place was unique. I love the architecture and the info was very good on the history.

A good little museum showing the history of the area. This is based right next to where the cruise ships arrive. There are some very interesting areas based around the railway/road into the area and also around a warship in the early 1900s. We spent about an hour here but could have spent more time especially in the railway area

Fun museum with both an art portion and a history portion to it. There was a great Guy Harvey theme winding it’s way up the stairs that depicted Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. The second floor had a great history of Key West, including major hurricanes, the failed railroad and the strategic importance that Key West played in America’s defense.

Cool place to walk around and take pictures. Statue is enormous! And plenty of chickens running around as well.

Really great experience. The art was really amazing.. not your typical cliche stuff in most galleries. The lady at the front that gives you a little background about the place was really great. She was very informative and polite.. all around a great experience for people that appreciate art and history

A great place to stop and get some Keys history. The residents collections were quite fun. A must see on the historic waterfront.

So fun to see the statues get changed out

We loved all of the history and art inside and outside. This place gives you so much information. We were only here for the day, so we couldnt spend a bunch of time here, but the time we were, was enjoyable. The figures on the outside are creepy and cool.

An outstanding representation of Key West history, culture, good times & bad! Beautiful gift shop - VERY reasonably priced items...may become my Christmas shopping destination locally. Oh...1st Sunday of every month is FREE for locals at ALL of the museums they curate in Key West...an awesome savings & wonderful day out!

Really nice place to walk, and feels like home conditions and weather.

Great experience! Learned a lot.

We drove by here, but we didn’t have time to check out the rest of the area. So many cool places to walk to from here as well.

There is very good art here both rotating and local. There are exhibits on Hemingway and sculpture by Papio.

Really enjoyed this museum. Very well put together.

Amazing sketches from Guy Harvey! Wonderful history!

Great museum that blends art and history. Learned lots of cool things about the keys that made our whole vacation more enjoyable. Well worth the price. $12 adults, $5 students (no ID required). We are 4 guys in their 20s and my friends arent really interested in learning anything or reading and dont really care about art or history, but they loved it. Thats how engaging it is.

This is not a big museum, it will take no more than an hour of your time, but it does talk about the history of the people of Key West. We enjoyed it very much.

Great place to take the family or an atypical experience to learn more about the keys and surrounding waters. The building is architecturally awesome and exhibits were well put together. Awesome deal for locals on the first Sunday!

Nice place enjoyed learning about us Maine, and some of the other history of key West. Bit heavy on Hemmingway, but it is Key West

I love the huge sculptures that they always have at the front.

Nice museum with a lot of what youd expect from the name.

This was a very interesting place to visit. This museum did a great detailing the history of Key West. If you find yourself in Key West I would give try.

Very interesting, self guided tour! Love the Old Man and the Sea exhibit

So much more history here than I had assumed. It is very interesting and I learned a lot.

Small museum, but a fun and quick walk through of key west history and art. Reasonably priced and very entertaining.

Wonderful art exhibition and history museum in key west. The current exhibits are a blend of art and history, including a large set of pieces based on the old man and the sea by Hemingway. Check it out if you have time!

A historic building where landmark maritime law cases were settled in the 1800s — the precedents still stand — the Custom House now is one of four museums operated by the society. (The others are the Lighthouse and keepers quarters, on Whitehead Street; Fort East Martello, a Civil War coastal gun battery on South Roosevelt Boulevard; and the Tennessee Williams Exhibit, on Truman Avenue. The Custom House has permanent and temporary exhibitions highlighting the islands history, art and culture. Well worth a visit.

Beautiful building, nice exhibits, friendly staff.

Interesting and educational speaker series.

My wife shopped while I sat in the lobby. The young Hispanic girl came out from the cigar counter and carried out a long conversation with the Hispanic male sitting next to me. Spoke totally in Spanish. When my wife summoned me I said my wife in Spanish and watched the young girl face turn red from embarrassment.One must be careful speaking foreign language never know who is multi lingual listening in.

Hard to tell which is better, the incredible exhibits or the architecture. Win/win.

Lots to do in Key West but this is one of the places that you must visit

Very well maintained history.

Solid place.

We enjoyed our visit to the Key West Art and Historical Museum. There was so much history and beauty to be seen. It was a highlight of our Key West Trip. We liked the gift shop, too.

A must see while in Key West. 2 floors of expansive wonderful exhibits, events ongoing, affiliated with Tennessee Williams new Museum on Truman. Take time to visit. Very interesting all around.

Nice place to stroll.

Interesting exhbits. Good video on the railroad. Give yourself a bit if time to see it all

Walking around the FL keys is nice, its upbeat busy, a bit crowded, but hot. This museum offers a nice time to cool down as well pass by time learning something new.

Excellent museum on the history and culture of KW

This was OK but expensive for what it was its over 2 floors with wheelchair access via the elevator + restrooms are clean

I spoke with Sharona Setlock who was unbelievably rude when asking her to direct me to the right person for an inquiry. She may have been having a bad day, but thats no reason to take it out on someone calling for a general question. To be honest, Im quite surprised by the interaction I had with her over the phone, considering the rest of the museum is pretty great - not sure why they have someone so unprofessional representing them over the phone.

The Guy Harvey/Old Man in the Sea exhibit was AWESOME!!

Love to visit the museum when we are in Key West. We really enjoyed The Old Man and the Sea exhibit.

Very good local museum

Small museum, nice artwork and gives a great picture of the history of the keys... I feel it had just the right amount of information to keep my 12 yr olds interest without becoming boring.

Air conditioned museum about the history of Key West and her colorful characters.

KWAHS has a very interesting group of museums. The exhibits are well crafted and eye catching. The staff is super nice and exceptionally knowledgeable. I highly recommend visiting all of their locations.

You Must Visit This Place.Very Interesting Part Of The American History

Nice and clean

Very much enjoyed the Guy Harvey exhibit.

Took my wife and kids while on vacation we all enjoyed it

Exhibits were fascinating! Building is historic as well.

Fun museum! Nice and air conditioned. And some cool things to see and learn! Right nexr door to Margaritaville Resort!

Nice place I will be back

Great place. Well organized, informative.

Incredible restoration and exhibit on Key West. A must do.

Georgous building, great exhibits

Lots of Cuban and key west history in this museum. Theres also an entire room dedicated to Hemingway. Decent amount of exhibits for the 10$. I thought it was a little boring,but if you really like history youll enjoy it.

Awesome place with a great historical display!

This is one of the better museums that Ive been to. Im not a museum person but this museum is small enough that I didnt get bored and I found the history behind Key West to be very interesting.

Fun place good drinks pretty good food and live turtle racing!!

Stunning exhibits and very helpful staff. Guy Harvey work all along the stairwell is amazing!

If you are in to architecture of historical buildings and history stop here. Price was 9 bucks a head for AAA discount (offer discounts for senior, military, children, etc so ask). There are two full floors that teace the islands history along with its famous folks. I learned more here than at the Hemmingway house about him. The stair s going g up trace the history through an artist of the Old man and the Sea. The drawings are beautiful. If this is your line stop here and plan to spend a couple hours looking gat all items.

Great place to learn about Key West history.

Great group. Keeping up the historical side of K W. Fantastic events and interesting seminars and movies.

Historical Customs House turned museum with art, great exhibit of naval history and its influence on Key West, contribution of Flaglers railroad for growth and tourism, & Guy Harveys 59 prints depicting Hemingways Old Man and the Sea.

Super little museum!

A nice presentation of The Old Man and the Sea done in pen and ink. Over 50 images in tbe story.

A very nice museum with both permanent and changing exhibits. One of the most interesting exhibits is on the Flagler railroad which once linked Key West to the mainland.

Excellent Event and Great vendors.

The gorgeous Custom House,was built in 1891. Many years after, the building was boarded up and completely abandoned. Now, after a 9-year, after a restoration project, the Key West Art & Historical Society has returned the big red brick building to its former glory. Visit.*****

Love this place for the statues and monuments. Clean environment, well cared.

Great staff and beautiful lodging. Great place to stay.

Nice place to stroll thru. Lots to learn about Key West and its history.

Truly amazing exhibits on the history of Key West, the military in Key West, and the development of arts in Key West. They also have a great set of illustrations of Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway

I didnt care for the art part, but the history was interesting. I purchased a combo ticket for the museum, lighthouse museum and Fort East Martello which essentially works out to buy two, get one free. Also, this place has great air conditioning which is really nice on a hot Key West day.

Worth a visit, interesting place to learn about the history of Key West.

Very nice exhibits highlighting Hemingway, the Navy, and Flaglers railroad to Key West. Beautiful building restoration. Intriguing outside sculptures.

A must see! Love learning more about the history of Florida!

Amazing building and exhibition.

Nice little Museum, learned of local history, Hemingway and the Railroad to the Keys. Enjoyed it very much!

Great folks that will really entertain you and know all the history and what to do in town

Extensive exhibit of the history of the railroad which was destroyed by a hurricane long ago. Other exhibits on the history and the arts in Key West.

Beautiful!!!

Cool building and statue out front.

Great place to learn about Key West history when the weather drives you inside

Cool place!

Enjoyed the tour!. Beautiful old building.

Very educational.

There is no art and historical building. The art group has its own building and the history of key west is housed separately

Went to the Christmas show and it was wonderful!

Cool place

Wen I got off my cruise all I saw was this big red house.the lady told me not to go to the 3 floor but since Im ignorant I went up and saw a GHOST. It was a little girl

Learn a lot about Hemingway and other figures important to Key West history.

Cool museum!!! GO NAVY️