xoxo, xenophile: Glensheen Mansion

Glensheen Mansion

If you're ever in the Duluth, Minnesota area and you enjoy learning about early 20th century history (or even if you just enjoy seeing fancy houses), I highly recommend visiting the Glensheen Historic Estate. It's a mansion of 39 rooms as well as some beautiful gardens and a wonderful pebble beach along the shore of Lake Superior. They don't allow pictures inside of Glensheen (otherwise there would be dozens more in this post), but the inside is absolutely beautiful.

My favorite part was the breakfast room, which was full of plants, had running fountains, and a green color scheme that made one feel as if they were in a very elegant sort of jungle. I also enjoyed the outside--the gardens are beautifully kept and there is an intricate hand-carved marble fountain lined up with the beautiful balcony in front of the mansion. I could definitely see why someone was having their wedding there the day I visited!

The tour guides are very friendly and helpful, and provide fascinating details about the history of the early 1900s. For example, one of the guest bedrooms had two twin beds and they explained that, because transportation took so much longer in those days, people generally stayed for longer times and many times young ladies (for their amusement as well as safety) brought friends as traveling companions, so it was standard to have two beds in a guest bedroom of that sort. The guides also know interesting details about the house as well--I remember our guide pointing to a elaborate monster of a silver chandelier which was called "The Servant's Nightmare" since it took seven days to polish all of its nooks and crannies.

I very much enjoyed seeing the lavish furnishings of this U.S. National Register Historic Place, as well as the peaceful atmosphere of the grounds outside, which you can explore without a guide. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a beautiful historic attraction to visit in Duluth!