 In November 1936, in an interview with the Key West "Citizen", Hemingway showed the reporter the location he had planned for a pool.It was Pauline Hemingway, though, who spent $20,000 (equivalent in 2013 to $330,000) to have the deep well-fed pool built for her husband while he was away as a Spanish Civil War correspondent in 1938.When Hemingway returned, he was unpleasantly surprised by the cost and exclaimed, "Well, you might as well have my last cent," before tossing a penny into the pool.