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Courtesy Glensheen
Glensheen
Glensheen offers a variety of tours and regular events, including Chester Chats and Concerts by the Lake.
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Courtesy Glensheen
Glensheen
The estate hosts free Concerts by the Lake on the grounds Wednesdays in July.
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Bob Berg / Lake Superior Magazine
Glensheen Tour
Robin Jamar Manning, left, and sister Sally Jamar Carlson chat with Glensheen guide Brittany Lane.
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Bob Berg / Lake Superior Magazine
First Timers at Glensheen
Sally Jamar Carlson and Robin Jamar Manning.
Spring is a great time to visit – or to revisit – Glensheen Historic Congdon Estate, and on May 22, the tour is free.
On the annual Community Day, the standard tour, usually $15 for adults, is free. It spans the main floor, the second floor with the master bedroom, the basement and the carriage house and the grounds. Tours tend to fill up by afternoon, so arrive early.
The event draws busloads of visitors and Duluthians in particular, which is what marketing director Lucie Amundsen likes to see. Once locals know about the mansion, they spread the word, she says. “Their relatives come to town, and they say, ‘Oh, you should go to Glensheen.’”
If you really want a different view of Glensheen, try a new Flashlight Tour. The nighttime visits explore the lives of Glensheen servants, seeing the house as they might, with tour guides dressed in period costume.
The special lighting showcases interesting aspects of Glensheen’s rare artwork and furnishings. “When you do a flashlight tour, you can really spot individual pieces of art in a way that you don’t when you just come into a room” with the lights on, Lucie says.
The mansion, built from 1905 to 1908 by tycoon Chester Congdon, served as a family home for nearly 70 years. Today it’s owned and managed by the University of Minnesota and welcomes 60,000 visitors a year.
A recent change allows guests to shoot photos (without flash). “It makes for a better guest experience,” Lucie says of picture taking.
Glensheen offers a variety of tours. The Expanded Tour ($26) takes in the third floor’s arts and crafts furnishings. Regular events include Chester Chats, which feature three speakers on a single topic. Free Concerts by the Lake are performed on the grounds Wednesdays in July.
Longtime Connection, First-Time Visitors
Visiting Glensheen one Sunday, I bumped into Sally Jamar Carlson of Glenview, Illinois, and Robin Jamar Manning of Billings, Montana, and asked how they liked the tour. Turns out these sisters, who grew up in Duluth’s Congdon Park neighborhood near Glensheen, had a tie to the estate. Their godmother was a Congdon – Elizabeth “Betsy” Congdon Mason.
“The attention to detail that the Congdons had in each and every room was fascinating,” said Sally, who called her visit “mesmerizing.”
She was interested to see that the bedroom furniture was meant to match each child. “Glensheen is a masterpiece not to be missed when living in or traveling to Duluth.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed my tour of Glensheen,” Robin agreed. “It was something I have wanted to do for years when I visited Duluth but had never gotten it done. I was impressed with our tour guide and her knowledge of the house and its history. It was amazing to hear and see how progressive Mr. Congdon was in building his home in the early 1900s.”
Glensheen Historic Congdon Estate, 3300 London Rd. 218-726-8910. glensheen.wp.d.umn.edu
Note to Subscribers: After the April/May issue arrived from the printer, UMD announced a date change for the Community Day at Glensheen. Please note the new date is May 22.