Key West · Old Town side streets
The Artist House
A turreted Queen Anne house in Old Town, home for decades to painter Gene Otto, now a seven-room guest house with a ghost story the inn tells in full.
- Built
- 1890–98built between 1890 and 1898 as the Otto family residence (inn's wording 'Built between 1890-98'; the family moved in 1898); guest house since 1978
- Style
- Queen Anne
- Type
- B&B
- Rooms
- 7
- Area
- Old Town side streets
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district
The story
The Queen Anne house with its corner turret was built between 1890 and 1898 for the Otto family; Thomas Otto and his wife moved in in 1898. Their son, the painter Robert Eugene ‘Gene’ Otto, lived there with his wife Anne, a concert and jazz pianist, for about 40 years; Gene died in 1974 and Anne in 1976. It has operated as a guest house since 1978. The house was the original home of ‘Robert the Doll’, a 1904 Steiff doll given to Gene as a child that is now displayed at the East Martello Museum. The 1983 National Register inventory lists it as a contributing Queen Anne house with a three-story tower.
The ghost story
The inn publishes stories, including a 1997 Key West Citizen excerpt and a Discovery Channel segment, in which guests report a woman in a wedding dress, said to be Anne Otto, descending the Turret Suite staircase. It was also the original home of Robert the Doll, said to have been seen moving in the turret window. The inn adds that none of its guests have reported anything but a wonderful stay.
Source: www.artisthousekeywest.com
Good to know
- Breakfast: included
- Parking: street
- Pets welcome
- Address: 534 Eaton Street, Key West, FL 33040
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Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.