Museums in Historic Houses Tour
Itinerary prepared by Rethos Volunteer Krista Hanson
Doors Open Minneapolis is providing free access to some of the most popular historic house museums in Minnesota. These historic house museum sites are located in houses designed by some of this state’s premier architects that tell the history of this city and this state. The Ard Godfrey House shows the simple, early Greek Revival style of early white settlers to Minnesota territory. The three other houses open to the public as museums show the architectural styles that came during the “Golden Age” of wealth and architecture in Minneapolis. Enjoy visiting these homes to learn about how people lived at various times in the history of Minneapolis.
Purcell-Cutts House
1913 Prairie School Style Home, Purcell, Feick and Elmslie architects
The 1913 William Gray and Edna (Summy) Purcell house gives visitors the chance to visit an architect’s own home. The Purcell family and their two children lived simply in what appears to be a very modern home with features like a sunken living room and a porch off the dining room. The fine details wrought by Purcell’s partner George Grant Elmslie include fun surprises tucked into the stained glass designs and even in the furniture. This is a rare gem amongst Prairie School architecture.
Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the house, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Due to its historic design, parts of the Purcell-Cutts House are inaccessible to some people with limited mobility. Tours involve two sets of stairs, the restroom is in the basement, and there is no elevator. Gallery stools are available.
Open Saturday and Sunday
Partially accessible, public restrooms
Parking on the street. Bus transit on Franklin Avenue #2
The Bakken Museum
1930 English Tudor Revival Home, Carl A. Gage architect
The home built for William E. Goodfellow shows what can be done when “money is no object.” Goodfellow’s father operated Goodfellow’s Dry Goods, a competitor of Dayton’s department store. When George D. Dayton bought out the Goodfellow business, son William used the proceeds to build his dream house. He travelled Europe with his architect, Carl A. Gage, finding inspiration as well as decorative objects to bring back to his home. Some parts of the home feel like an English country cottage, while other parts feel like an English Tudor mansion. Be sure to tour the upstairs of the original home in addition to the Bakken Museum below, and don’t miss the stunning herbal gardens.
Today, the house is the location of the Bakken Museum, named after the museum’s founder, Earl Bakken. The Bakken Museum inspires a passion for innovation by exploring the potential for science, technology, and the humanities to make the world a better place. Located on the West shore of Bde Maka Ska, the museum features interactive exhibits, a medicinal garden, a world-renowned collection of artifacts, and exceptional STEM education programs.
Open Saturday Only
Fully accessible, public restrooms, kids activities
Free parking is available in the surface lot off Zenith Avenue South. Free street parking is also available on Zenith Avenue South (West side of the street) and on both sides of W 36th Street.
Bus Transit routes #6U or 6D
Hennepin History Museum
This home was built for George Henry Christian, who was a manager of the Washburn-Crosby Company. He built his home across the street from his boss Washburn’s Fair Oaks mansion. When he died, the home became the project of his son and daughter-in-law, George & Caroline (McKnight) Christian, They spared no expense to build a lavish home within a notably small footprint. The home’s architecture features details such as English Tudor roses, elaborate iron work and an oriental design to the living room. This stylish home was built to entertain and to impress.
Located in the 1920 George & Caroline (McKnight) Christian mansion in the Washburn-Fair Oaks Historic District. Hennepin History Museum invites you to experience the diverse history of our region by exploring our exhibits and early photos of the building. Enjoy talks about the family who built our home – their story is the story of Minneapolis!
Partially accessible, public restrooms — Stairs to upper and lower floors with no elevator or lift. Non-accessible entrance.
Parking on the street. Bus transit routes #2, 11C, or 18.
The Ard Godfrey House
1848 Greek Revival Home, Ard Godfrey builder
The 1848 Ard & Harriet Godfrey house is located near Northeast, or the Old St. Anthony district. This historic house is the oldest surviving frame home in the Twin Cities. Built in 1848, the Greek Revival house was the residence for the Ard Godfrey family. Godfrey was a skilled millwright (a forerunner of the modern mechanical engineer) from the East Coast who had been recruited by early settler and entrepreneur Franklin Steele for $1,500 a year to build a dam and lumber mill at the falls of St. Anthony (now part of the city of Minneapolis) in what was then called the Wisconsin Territory.
The house has been moved four times and now stands on Chute Square in the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, at University Avenue and Central Avenue S.E., just two blocks from its original site. Finished in 1849, the house is fully furnished in the time period. The Woman's Club of Minneapolis maintains the house and gives guided tours
Open Sunday Only
Partially accessible — Stairs to upper and lower floors with no elevator or lift. They have a wheelchair accessible entrance and visitors will be able to enter part of the rooms on the first floor.
Parking on the street. Bus transit routes #11C, 17W, 4B