Glensheen Mansion

Excellent self-guided tour. Beautiful early turn of the century (1905) mansion. Beautiful views of Lake Superior. Our teens enjoyed that the tour was self paced so they went fast and hung out on the beach and hammocks while we went slower.

This was a nice in door tour of the mansion. You'll be walking around the rooms and reading family history. There's also a sea shell scavenger hunt which made it fun. There's not a lot of places during the tour to take a break and have a seat but otherwise there's some out door patio furniture once you get outside where you can relax and enjoy the view of the beautiful lake. There's also military discounts, UMD student discounts and elderly discounts as well. Definitely a nice tour if you're into history and architecture.

Came back here for my 6th visit in my life and it always seems that I learn or notice something that I didn't pick up on in a prior visit. I'm used to tours with tour guides however this time it seemed there were only self-guided tours available. We downloaded the Glensheen app and it was nice to tour at our own pace since we were with our children. The app was great at describing each portion of this beautiful historical mansion and I would highly suggest it to anyone. Next time we need to visit in the warmer months so we can see the backyard grounds in full bloom of flowers and foliage. Staff at the mansion as always were very helpful and friendly.

A very nice mansion to tour though. The tours are self guided and have a couple options. I did the one that included all of the floors, which I would recommend. Friendy staff are on all floors for questions and to help direct you if needed.

Took this tour and learned about the Codgon Family and estate. This house is located along the lake Superior. And is taken care of by the University of Minnesota. I enjoyed touring the house inside and ate lunch on the beautiful grounds

Amazing place to visit if you like to immerse yourself in another time via a vintage setting. It’s well worth the ticket price and I highly recommend the full house tour including the attic.

Wow, is all I can say. It was impressive to see the full tour of the mansion. Download the app to listen about each room. The signs in each room don't give the full story. We want to go in late summer when the gardens are in full bloom.

It was neat to see all of the different rooms and old items. So much detail put into the home. We only did the classic tour but was plenty to explore. Very pretty place to go.

We bought our tickets in advance and went there Saturday when they opened. The mansion was decorated for Christmas, which was beautiful to see. I would recommend ttaking a tour of this place when visiting Duluth.

The Mr is currently working in Plymouth, so I came up for the weekend to visit. We decided to drive to Duluth so I could put my eyes on Lake Superior. While driving along the North Shore, I spotted a sign that read, 'Take A Tour'. I adore house tours so you didn't have to ask me twice. There were two tours, but we opted for the full house tour at $30 per person. We started by roaming the beautiful grounds. I'm a history nerd so I appreciated all the informational placards around the property. We encountered a mother goose with several babies near the water's edge. I could tell she was nervous because her head was on a constant swivel and she hissed at the Mr. as he walked past. I gave her a wide respectful berth. After that, we toured all 3 floors of the mansion. We had just missed the last guided tour, which kind of bummed me out, but every room had great signage, so I think we got the full experience. Each room offered unique architectural details and I could go on and on but I'll just post a few pics instead. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

This was a great museum, we did the full tour to see the other floors. Be sure to pay attention to the family story, especially the end. Love the authenticity of the furnishings.

Loved the tour of Glensheen Mansion , amazing place. Cost when built was $875,000. - now it would be $28 million.... I loved the history and furnishings in every room.

Murder? What murder? They don't talk about the interesting history of the mansion and family but if you want to see a dress from the 1920s they've got you covered. https://artfulliving.com/murder-at-glensheen/ The mansion and grounds are beautiful but it's overpriced.

This place was really cool! I really appreciate it the app that I was able to download. You guys honestly don't need the app, but it was really nice to have a map of the area and the ability to simply press play and hear the tour guide read what was on the card in front of me. The family who owned this place are apparently pretty legendary. What's really neat is to see how the state of the art elite lived at the turn of the last century. Anyway, I found myself needing to kill some time in Duluth Minnesota and this was a perfectly fascinating way to do it. This place is really cool.

So much to see and the full tour that my friend and I did was so worth it! It was a beautiful place to see.

While on vacation in Duluth we went to Glensheen Mansion. Tickets are about 20 dollars for adults and they have accessibility options for those who are handicap. They had a large parking lot and a few wheelchairs that you could rent and we used for my grandma. There were parts of the house that my grandma was unable to access but they gave her an iPad and it had a video so she could still experience the house. It was cool to walk through the house and see the original furniture and clothing from the 1800s. After walking through the house you can walk out back and see Lake Superior from and a nice garden too. After being to Glensheen Mansion I don't think I'd need to come back just since I have experienced it once.

A lot of things go into visiting Glensheen. First of all only a set number of people can be up in the top areas of the mansion at once so try to go at a less busy time to ensure you can get a ticket for the "full tour." We arrived mid morning on a weekend and it was sold out. We ended up coming back later in the afternoon (we called first) and they had tickets available at that time. Boy am I glad we waited. The whole mansion is really cool (and the grounds too.) Each room has a placard explaining who lived in that room and some other tid-bits about it. If you are interested in Glensheen because you heard about some murders that occurred here, be forewarned that the tour does not mention them at all. You can purchase a book about it in the gift shop, but that's all I saw about it. The tour really focused on the wealthy family who lived in the house back in the 1800s. There were kind employees fixed around the home who guide you where to go also. We even saw a bat in the attic! Cool!

TLDR. It's too expensive for what you get. There is no guided tour option. If you want to see the full house it's almost $40 per person. I toured the mansion about a decade ago and would frequently tell people about it. I had a great time and learned about the house and the family. I was disappointed visiting today when I brought my girlfriend so she could experience the house and tour. There was no guided tour of the house available at all. The information provided was fairly minimal in each room on an individual stand/plaque. A couple facts about each room and no stories which I would say are the best part - giving some texture and history to the house. There were numerous dresses and I can't say I much care about most of them. I wanted to tour the house not the closet. The house itself is beautiful and well maintained. The lawn/garden/estate is very impressive. It's a shame that it's almost twice the cost to see the full house. The main tour doesn't include the third floor which from the map had many rooms nor did it have the attic. I would expect the primary tour to cover the full house for the $20 charge not $36 to see the additional floor. And if it is as expensive as it is to walk around there should certainly be tour guides or at least videos/recordings with details and history of the family and rooms. I was very disappointed and so was my girlfriend. The James J Hill house was both cheaper and guided. Sad to see the decline.

I would definitely recommend this place for your tourist destination, especially the Christmas tour. The mansion was beautifully decorated with over 25-Christmas trees and it got our family in the holiday mood. We came early on a weekday morning to avoid the crowds and got a personalized self tour taking our time. Glensheen also has a huge amount of local history and the staff is very knowledgable about all things Glensheen I would also recommend going during daylight hours, as the natural sunlight helps to see all the details throughout the mansion. Family friendly, but don't touch anything inside. Our son was an active military member so admission was free for all of us.

Glensheen was beautiful. I am glad we went. We did the full tour for $26. We had a tour guide who took us through the various parts of the mansion and gave historical information on each room. Our tour guide made sure to ask if we had questions. We were a bit disappointed that the murder wasn't talked about. We saw an entire book on it in the gift shop! Our guide did speak a bit about it when asked. Outdoors was so lovely. We walked through the vegetable garden to the old-fashioned tennis court. Walking along the lake was amazing. The bridge was cool too.

Really cool old estate. Property is in excellent condition and the materials for the self-guided tour are excellent. It is easy to imagine what life may have been like living in this beautiful spot on Lake Superior. Definitely bring a picnic as that is encouraged and the views are breathtaking. Side note of curiosity - can't wait to read the murder mystery about the family ... after seeing how they lived, my curiosity is stoked!

Absolutely beautiful and definitely worth seeing and the feeling you get as your walking through this mansion is amazing!!

A beautiful house and truly enjoyed our self-guided tour through this mansion. The grounds of the house are just beautiful with all the trees, green grass and Lake Superior in the background. There is a creek along the side of the house. Also, suggest you do a little homework on this mansion afterwards as you will find out much more than what you learn going through the house. Very interesting!

An unexpected treat. A beautiful house and grounds. Staff very knowledgeable. Well worth the time, but try to get the whole house guided tour -- the sell out

This is one of the better museums I've ever been to! The mansion is beautiful and really well laid out. The real winner here is the staff. They are amazing and know absolutely everything about the history and furnishings. Ask them a million questions and they will have a million answers we did the classic tour but I would suggest the upgrade as it's that great of a place! Highly recommended! Also great for kids we took out 9 and 11 year old and they loved!

I question the taste of the manager of this place. We visited April 3 and all of the Christmas decorations were still up. This was an issue because: 1) the estate is BEAUTIFUL, but the decorations up were cheap oversized plastic candy canes, plastic penguins, and gas station style rope lights. 2) you couldn't take any pictures of the grounds without some tacky decoration wrecking it 3) every room in the home ALSO had questionable Christmas decorations in every corner, so again, no nice pictures to be taken. Such a beautiful place, but the tacky decorations were sooo distracting. A) this place deserves better taste (real pine garlands and tasteful white lights), and B) it's APRIL, for the love of god, take all of this crap down.

Beautiful building with great views. The tour is worth doing once to see how the truly wealthy people used to live. Highly recommend the free Wednesday night concerts on pier. Huge local turnout good for hanging out and people watching.

Beautiful estate and very well organized grounds. Follow the blue line and signs that tells you where to go to continue the tour and read every sign that tells you about the members of the family as all was very interesting! However, it was odd that no mention of the murders was found anywhere in the mansion. (I suggest you to read up about the murders as it's quite shocking. Although we are not from the area so maybe it's common knowledge for people around here...) We enjoyed the tour very much and the surrounding area is beautiful as well.

I went for a tour over labor day weekend. All of the full tours were sold out but we snagged two tickets to the main floor, second floor and the basement. Masks were required when inside and they have a guided route due to COVID. The house is gorgeous and 95% of the furnishings, walls, woodwork etc you see are original. The tour took us about 90 minutes and then we spent an additional how outside touring the grounds. The mansion has information on all of the family members but I wish there had been either a booklet or additional signs on the family, current descendents and the time period they lived in. We went on a Sunday and it was pretty busy, but only had to wait about 10-15 minutes in line to buy tickets. Some rooms and grounds buildings were closed but there was a ton to see and walk through. Definitely a fun trip and I'd go back for cocktails or to tour the third floor.

A classic. You can go back in time and imagine the turn of the 20th century. The pineapples scattered throughout are a symbol of welcome. The guided tour is informative and our guide was able to answer extensive questions about the family and architecture. You can self tour the grounds while you wait for your guided tour. Tours fill up so it is best to schedule in advance or call for availability. At the end of the tour, guides are now allowed to talk about the murders.

Had a fantastic time here. Did the third floor/attic tour and it was fun. Tour guide was a little hard to hear but that may be on me as much as her. The length was just right for my kids (9 and 13) and interesting. They had a pumpkin hunt for kids that my 9 year old enjoyed. The house is incredible and beautifully maintained. We loved walking the grounds on our most recent visit, something we have not done as much of in the past. We've been here several times and visit often. Highly recommend.

My sister and I decided to go into Duluth and take advantage of a rainy blustery day to spend indoors on a tour of the Glensheen mansion we went ahead and purchased the full tour for $30 which included the upper floors and areas not previously seen by either of us on previous tours. Our tour guide Brian was excellent informative and fun. We felt this tour was the best either of us had been on previously and well worth the money

I love Glensheen. I have taken so many tours that I could ALMOST lead my own tour! The Nooks and Crannies Tour was my favorite. I really enjoyed getting to see the family vehicles in the Carriage House, the unique pulley system they used to move the vehicles, and the peek into the boathouse. My favorite part about Glensheen is that the ownership of the mansion passed directly from the family to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, which means that the furniture and furnishings are not merely period, but actually things the family used and cherished. If you've never visited Glensheen, what are you waiting for?? It's a beautiful place where you can breathe in the history of the Congdon family and get a feel for their great contributions to Duluth.

First time here. Our family did the classic tour as other one sold out until evening. We are given a booklet and you look in all the rooms on 1st and 2nd floor and basement. This place gives of U of MN Duluth students jobs reprimanding dumb ass people who open drawers and touch sinks. My 14 year old was better behaved then some adults. No beverages or gum. Very nice historic home. Comparable to James J Hill house in St Paul. Kinda wanted to do the 3rd floor and attic tour and hear about the Congdon murders. Found interesting that the Congdon family tree disses 2nd generation. We were here under an hour as it was cold outside.

We've wanted to go to Glensheen for years and finally made it. We did the full tour and are glad we did. It was self guided which was nice especially during Covid. Our only complaint is that there were Christmas decorations everywhere, inside and out, but it's March. It looked tacky at this point. I'm glad we went to visit, but for us once is enough.

Two years ago, we were in Duluth and were unable to tour this beautiful mansion. So, we made a special 2 1/2 hour drive to visit the area again. We came here on a rainy Saturday and it seemed a lot of people had the same idea. The guided tours sold out quickly, so we did the self-guided tour. This is a 39 room mansion built in the early 1900's. At the time it cost $850,000, which would cost about $30 million in today's money. I kept thinking is was sort of an American version of "Downton Abbey." After paying admission, you show your ticket to a guide and she gives a brief background (leaving out anything about the two murders that took place here in 1977) and sends you on your way. You get to see the first, second and basement floors. There are guides in almost every area to answer any questions about the decor, furniture and family background (except the murders). They are very informative on construction, the details of the family and customs of the day. It's a beautiful home built with only the best materials. Most of the original furniture is in the home. One guide told us the origin of two lamps that came from Egypt. The fabrics and wallpaper are showing signs of wear but I was told research is being done for restoration. I enjoyed touring the home and grounds. It is a must see! I wouldn't recommend taking small children as they would be bored. As for the tale about what took place in 1977, there is a book for purchase in the gift store. Frankly, I would have gone through the home without knowing about the tragic circumstances. I enjoyed it very much.

Beautiful house, but I was not a fan of the self guided tour. I missed the warmth of being a part of a tour group. It was hard to enjoy the rooms as everyone goes at their own pace. I didn't have a chance to read stuff I would have otherwise liked to as I had to allow multiple other people to get past. With a group you're able to explore the room while hearing the history. I still enjoyed my time and am glad I went and got to see the beauty and history within the house and grounds. I'll definitely come back if they resume guided tours!

We toured the mansion in late July, and despite the heat, we loved every minute! We particularly liked learning about how Chester Congdon made his money... going up against giants like Andrew Carnegie. We had just toured the Hull-Rust-Mahoning Iron Mine in Hibbing a few days prior which really helped to unify the stories for us. Definitely worth stopping thru Duluth to see this on our trip home!

This was easily one of the best parts of our visit to the Duluth area! We really enjoyed our self-guided tour and actually wished we lived in the area so we could go on all the tours available! This house is astonishing - a true "American Castle". And while we were there, they were displaying dresses from various years in history throughout the house. The dresses were gorgeous. The house was breathtaking. Overall it was just so much fun! Also the grounds were so pretty. We would have stayed all day if we could! I love history and so does my husband but he was iffy on if he'd actually enjoy himself. He actually liked it even more than I did because he was simply in awe of all the details and craftsmanship on the house! This place is great for anyone who has a love and respect for history or just beautiful places. A must see in Duluth!

This was an awesome venue for a wedding. Reggie and her staff were extremely helpful and professional planning and executing-as we are out of towners and needed much assistance. We left something very important behind- Reggie made sure we got it. The place is beautiful and they did embrace its history! Many many thanks!!!

The Glensheen mansion or the Congdon place is a giant $150 million (estimated value) estate that is now owned and has been owned by the University of Minnesota for at least 30 years. The Congdon family was the 2nd richest family in Minnesota behind James J Hill. Chester Congdon was a lawyer and business man who made wise investments and liked to flaunt his money. Even the carriage house is 2-stories with a lot inside to lift carriages and sleighs to the upper floor for storage in the off-season. Many tedious details went into the planning and design of this place where there is everything from a solid gold ceiling to amenities that were unheard-of back then. There are 5 floors total counting the attic and basement. Now if you book a full tour, you will see all 5 floors for $26. The full tour is about 2 hours of guided tour and you are welcome to browse the grounds, yard and shoreline before and/or after your tour. Your admission price gets you a guided tour of the inside and an all-day pass to the property to browse around self guided. There isn't one bad thing that I can say about this place. It is magnificent. This is my 2nd time here. I was here around 2000 when the grounds keeper still lived on the property but has moved out since. The outdoor area is just as neat as the inside to include fountains, boat house, lake front views and you can meander all around the outside of the house and balconies. When I looked at Yelp and didn't see many photos, I was thinking that there was going to be no photos of the inside like the last time I was here. Now they allow no flash photography which means photos are permitted as long as you do not use a flash. Reason being is the bright light can/will fade colors. They do keep the place dimly lit. No flash photos or video now so I took a lot of pictures for my cyber friends. Please enjoy them. Of course this place also has a dark history behind it also where 2 people were Murdered in the house. The tours will not discuss that out of respect for the family. The agreement that the family made with the University when it was donated to them. They do sell a book on it in the gift shop. Have a great time.

This is a beautiful home, and an interesting look into power, politics and wealth in the early 20th century Duluth. Our docent, Brandon, was super well-informed and brought a lot of interesting regional history to the tour. The home is filled with beautiful craftsmanship and nareriaks. The grounds are also beautiful, and a nice place to take a stroll down to the lake.

I've been to Glensheen for different reasons over the years. My first experience was going on a standard tour of the mansion, learning about the torrid history of the family that lived there, and seeing the beautiful decor of the mansion. The price for the tour could be expensive, but if you are savvy, look for coupons (they are often in the Duluth tour books, buy one ticket get one free). But my most recent experience with Glensheen was my favorite. We visited in the fall and they hosted a free event for photographers to photograph the grounds at sunrise. You didn't need to be a pro, just have a camera and be willing to haul yourself out of bed before the sun came up! The staff were there early brewing up some local Duluth coffee for the attendees and trying to get the group jazzed up about the potential for some great photos....despite the complete cloud-cover and rain. Womp, womp! No sun that morning, but they let us roam the grounds anyway and photograph any part of the exterior of the mansion we wanted. This was such a peaceful morning, just walking the grounds, snapping pictures, and not dealing with crowds of people or screaming children wanting to go home! It gave me an entirely different perspective of Glensheen I hadn't gotten on my tours before. Glensheen asked if any of us were willing to share photos we took with them, to tag them on social media and they even selected one of my photos to highlight!

Scout was a great tour guide! Very informative. I would highly recommend the full 1.5 hour tour. Then you can explore the grounds as long as you like.

I love this place! I've gone Everytime I'm in Duluth! I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't been there. I brought kids aged 9,10&11 with and they even enjoyed it too. Can't wait to visit again! Everything about glensheen is beautiful! I spend hours walking the grounds and sitting by lake superior!

$18 to just walk around?! They call it a "self-guided tour". Obscenely overpriced. There aren't even restrooms; you have to use a portapotty.

Soooo disappointing, especially for the price. 15 dollars per person for a "self-guided" tour and of only 3 floors (not the whole house). It was even more for the whole tour (that was sold out) I also didn't know much about the place or the family so I was hoping to gain some more knowledge. yeah, came out with only knowing what their bedrooms and kitchen looked like. They have guides in each room but they don't really talk unless you ask them questions. THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT THE MURDERS "out of respect for the family". K well that would've been nice to know before I bought the tickets.

I absolutely loved this tour. We decided to do the extended tour, which covered more areas of the house. I don't think we missed much of anything really! It is an amazing house and grounds and the history was not only entertaining, but very realistic. They have so much of the original furnishings, and the light fixtures alone are pointed out and explained in great detail. Our tour guide had a wonderful knowledge of the house and was articulate and did a great job. We knew nothing of the area or the history of the house, which includes a murder that they don't like to talk about, but will talk about after the tour if you ask. I purchased the book in the gift shop about the Glensheen daughter, and am enjoying that book still. An amazing house, and tour well worth the time to visit.

We did the self-guided, there's an app you can also download which would give you more info. Was very interesting to see the set up and read about the history. Staff was friendly enough and informative. The most interesting thing is Elizabeth's daughter though, but that's something you have to look up

Best thing we did all weekend! We did the books and crannies tour but we probably would have been ok just doing a self guided tour. I highly recommend getting the app and bringing headphones to listen to the self guided tour. Also the grounds are very beautiful do not leave before walking around the beautiful grounds.

We did the self guided tour and me and my family loved it worth every cent we could go as fast or as slow as we wanted too. My family and I have never been to This area but friends recommended this place. 100% worth it we enjoyed the view and the building.

I stopped by this historic mansion during the winter and I wasn't able to fully appreciate the gardens surrounding the property. From the pictures, it's definitely something I'll have to come back to see in the summer! Many weddings take place on the property during the spring and summer when the plants and flowers are in full bloom. The home itself is pretty fantastic. Each room has a unique decorating style reflecting the personalities of the original owners and their children. There is a third floor available to tour if you are willing to pay an extra fee. I was told by a friend that it is the men's quarters and that the rooms are pretty boring and plain compared to the opulence of the women's quarters on the second floor. The price of admission of $15 a person was a bit high in my opinion. I think it would be better at $10. Parking is free.

Stopped here today on a quiet weekday morning. We asked to take the full mansion tour, and though it was 10:29am the incredibly rude tickets sales woman would not allow us to take the 10:30am tour. She offered us the 11:30am tour, and my kids and I stepped off to the side to decide if we wanted to wait. (She told us we could wander outside while we waited, but that the gift shop was closed today so that wouldn't be a time-killing option. What??!) I stepped back to her desk after we decided to wait for the next tour after all, and asked for our three tickets. She then decided to let me know there were only TWO spots available on that tour. Unreal! I wouldn't be half as steamed up as I am right now if the woman hadn't been so rude. It was like she was on a power trip. Even my kids wondered what her problem was! Probably get her a new role behind the scenes, Glensheen. We were sorry to miss out on this. We'll probably try again but will definitely purchase in advance online. (The website didn't offer tour times, but did assure me that plenty of tickets are saved for walk- up tourists.) I repeat... unreal. What a disappointing waste of time.

Very informative tour of the mansion. It was interesting to see such a well preserved picture of the past. Our guide was very enthusiastic and adequately answered everybody's questions. The cost of admission for two adults is $24 each. Easy way to kill and hour in Duluth! No pun intended

No self-guided tours today, tours on a schedule only. So didn't do it. Call ahead to check.

We visited Glensheen last weekend. The mansion is beautiful, however deciding on which tour to take was very confusing. I had called ahead of time, twice, as well as checking online. We decided on the Nooks and Crannies for Sunday and did the full tour on Monday. The Full Guided Tour only includes the 3rd floor, the rest of it you go through yourself. Cost $30. The Nooks and Crannies cost also $30 and wasn't worth much more than about $20. After this tour, we were told we could go explore the home on our own. Needless to say, we could have saved the $30 we paid for Mondays Full Guided Tour. I felt for $60, it was very expensive and covered much the same areas. They could have explained the Full Guided Tour only covers the 3rd floor and the rest is no different than the Self Guided Tour, when I contacted them or checked online to purchase the tickets.

We had a great time learning about the history of a prominent family in Minnesota. We will be coming back as time goes on, and this home shall remain the same.