Glensheen Mansion

This is the second year Stacie and I toured the Glensheen.  It is a beautiful 38 room Jacobean style home located near the shore of Lake Superior.  The house was completed in 1908 by the Chester Congdon family.  The estate was willed to the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1977 after the death of Elisabeth, the last child to still live there.

All four of us really enjoyed the tour.  Stacie's parents have seen the Biltmore Estate and the Hearst Castle and felt like this house was more of a home as opposed to the Castle/Mansion feel of the previously mentioned mansions.  Stacie and I have been to the Biltmore and felt the exact same way.  The Glensheen is much smaller than the other two, but from the tour, it seems that many things were constructed to be more practical as opposed to the Biltmore, which was very extravagant.  

We encourage you to visit our write-up on the Glensheen Mansion from last year to learn more.  We have included several pictures here, because we were not able to get any last year due to the rain.

	Some of the carriages used by the Congdon family.
The Gardener's Cottage.  The home is still occupied by the last gardener of the grounds and his wife.  He moved into the house with his parents at the age of six in 1920.  He retired around 1995.
	The back of the Glensheen Mansion.

Below: Carriage house and stables.  Carriages were kept on the far left, horses on the far right.

Thoughts/Recommendations

• This is a very good tour of an early 1900s mansion.  The docents we have had really knew their stuff.  The tour points out some of the symbolism present in the home - like the pineapples all over the house that are a symbol of hospitality.  The tour also provides a lot of information for why parts of the house were designed the way they were. 
• This is a somewhat unique home in that it was meant for a family to live in as much or more than to be a show and display of wealth.  
• There are two separate tours.  The main tour takes you through the main areas of the house.  The 3rd floor and attic tour go through those floors.  The 3rd floor is where the boys bedrooms were.  We have not taken that tour yet, but would like to someday.  
• You cannot take pictures inside the house (preservation issues), but you can take all you want on the grounds and in the carriage house.