rahr-west museum and mansion

Don't normal go to this type of place on a holiday but went with another lady in our party and SO GLAD I did..... A SUPERB mueseum and art gallery in a historical home making just the home itself worth the visit..... Don't think small town US as a place to check out this type of thing but enjoyed more than a big city classic venue.... Local artists, local history as well as U.S. history all in a beautiful well kept historical house putting you back in time the moment you walk in..... Absolutely wonderfully done

The museum is beautiful from start to finish. Our two groups of 100 "Sweetheart Mystery" travelers were able to visit in February. All of the people at Rahr-West were so helpful as we were able to set up a canvas painting activity for our group. It was a fun and memorable experience for all. Then we were treated to very informative guided tours of the home which houses the museum. The architecture of this home is amazing. The art gallery was also extremely nice for being a small museum in a small community. We appreciated all of the kind people there to make our visits enjoyable and memorable.

Great history of Manitowoc with local artist showing along with house of famous local family as they lived in the early 1900's. Out of museum is location where piece of Spuknik satelite landed in early 60's.

The museum was very enjoyable. It was really nice to see all the old furniture and art work and how the mansion was maintained.

We came to the museum for my child's school field trip. It's sad knowing I lived here my whole life and never been here before. It's so beautiful. I have to say my favorite was the furniture, I am in love and am now looking for old furniture to refinish so I can have a piece of art in my home. Now back to the museum, we just went so it's decorated with Christmas trees at this time. They are amazing. Each tree is decorated different, my son's favorite is the trees with all cat ornaments. The staff was very friendly. They were ready to make us all laugh and smile.The museum also hosts crafts for young kids to do, I don't know exact dates so definitely call and find out, your child will enjoy it. And its FREE! Who could go wrong at that price?!We will be coming back for sure through out the next year to see how the decorate it next.

The Rahr-West Museum and Mansion is a great place to visit. During the whole year, the mansion is open to the public. It is an actual home that has been restored - what a treat! It is especially a treat during the Christmas season. The rooms are all decorated for Christmas - as they may have been years ago - and some very modern. If this won't put you in the Christmas spirit, nothing will.There are special events held at the museum during the year. One of my favorites is the Tablesettings display. Names are drawn to see who will have the privilege to make a table setting. There are 40 or 50 settings and each is different and has a different theme. Some choose a musical theme, some a memories theme, some a Christmas theme, or an Easter theme. There are settings made around various countries, colonial times, Western times, or childhood times. There have even been a couple of Halloween settings. One I especially liked this year was a setting in a vineyard as it might have been in Italy. Last year there was one under the sea with mobiles of fish and other sea creatures.Look for the Tablesettings in October at the Rahr-West Museum.

This is a nice mix of an art museum and a mansion that is still in very fine shape. Looking at this museum along with the Submarine Museum in Manitowoc, you can build a nice weekend trip here and really get a good return for your money. We are planning a tour for the Rolls-Royce Owners Club and this museum is definitely on our weekend list.Good parking around the museum and definitely a place to see.

USA Today listed the Rahr-West Museum as 1 of the top 10 small museums in the US, so when a family reunion put us in the area I jumped at the chance to see it. We were not disappointed. The woodwork inside the mansion is amazing in its detail, & reminded us of how this type of work is a thing of the past. The art is quite varied from oil paintings to wood carving, and the Japan room with its many gifts from Manitowoc's sister city in Japan is a varied representation of Japanese art & culture. This room alone makes a visit to the museum a must.

We stop in at the museum every couple of years when we visit Manitowoc, and it never disappoints. This June they had a Colorama display, a series of Kodak ads that were employed on buses and subways in the 60's. Very colorful for their time, they are scenes from around the world where a Kodak camera is shown in the ad. The permanent display is always worth a quick look, as is a tour of the mansion. Best of all, it is free.

This was a neat art museum and bit of history rolled into one! We enjoyed our visit & were delighted that there was no charge for the tour.

Nice art exibit. It was great to tour the mansion on our own. Couldn't believe there was no admission....

This place is a gem. And it was free when we visited (we made a donation). The museum is built around the base of the mansion, and it has a pretty nice collection for a small museum - a Picasso ceramic, a Liechtenstein, a Georgia O'Keefe, a Warhol, and some other notables of modern art among about 40 pieces. We were there during the Colorama exhibit, which showed about 25 of the photos that Kodak used to display in large format in Grand Central Station during the post-WW2 years up to about 1980. And they also had a camera display from the first 60 years or so of the 20th Century - think Brownies and Instamatics and flashcubes and Bell & Howell movie cameras. Then, you go up into the mansion which has some very neat artifacts and also some older artwork displayed. If you have a kid (of any age) with you who has some interest in the history of spacecraft, don't miss the display and the plaster cast of the piece of Sputnik IV that came down in the street just outside the museum in 1962 - that's down in the basement near the restrooms. Make sure you visit the biker outside who is late for his date.

The house houses much of the artwork and is an experience by itself. Many more pieces of art are on display in the museum addition.

We were here for a stop on a tour of the area while our others were in a conference. Old architecture and paintings were cool.

Certainly worth seeing! It is beautiful! I go there several times a year. Like to see what art is on display, but also always make a trip through the mansion. A treasure to have in our community!