Glensheen Historic Estate

Chester and Clara Congdon Estate Glensheen Historic Estate
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Lake side view of Glensheen
Location	3300 London Rd. Duluth, Minnesota
Built	1905–8
Architect	Clarence H. Johnston, Sr.; Charles W. Leavitt, Jr.
Architectural style	Jacobean Revival, Other
Website	https://glensheen.org/
NRHP Reference #	91001057
Added to NRHP	August 15, 1991

Glensheen, the Historic Congdon Estate is a mansion in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, operated by the University of Minnesota Duluth as a historic house museum. Glensheen sits on 7.6 acres (3.1 ha) of waterfront property on Lake Superior, has 39 rooms and is built in the Jacobean architectural tradition, inspired by the Beaux-Arts styles of the era. The mansion was constructed as the family home of Chester Adgate Congdon. The building was designed by Minnesota architect Clarence H. Johnston Sr., with interiors designed by William French and the formal terraced garden and English style landscape designed by the Charles Wellford Leavitt firm out of New York. Construction began in 1905 and completed in 1908.

Glensheen offers a variety of tours throughout the year. Classic and Full-Mansion Tours are offered year-round while tours such as the Nooks & Crannies, Grounds, and Flashlight are available seasonally. Glensheen also offers festive and family-oriented Christmas Tours for those looking for things to do in Duluth, Minnesota, during the holiday season.

William French's interior exhibits Late Victorian, Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau styles. French also designed the furniture for the house to coordinate with the style in each room. The rooms are trimmed or paneled in Circassian walnut, mahogany, cypress, fumed oak, and American walnut, with the furniture in each room made of the same wood used in the woodwork. The original furniture brought into the house in 1908 and '09 remains in virtually the same place it has been for 100 years. Some of the wall coverings and upholstery are also original. The hallways exhibit original stenciling in the Arts and Crafts style as well as beautiful wood carving. Wall and ceiling coverings are made of wool, silk, filled burlap, and gold leaf. The doors throughout the home are made of two kinds of wood, with oak on the hallway side and the variety of wood used in the room on the other side. The furniture in the eldest son's room, for example, is decorated with ebony inlaid motifs that are repeated in the oak paneled walls. Chester Congdon's art collection hangs in the home as it did when the Congdons lived there. The collection includes works by American artists Charles Warren Eaton, Henry Farrer, Childe Hassam, Albert Lorey Groll, Hamilton King, Lawrence Mazzanovich, Henry Ward Ranger, Peter Alfred Gross, David Ericson, C. F. Daubigny, Henri Harpignies, and many more. The house also contains a silk embroidery done by Japanese artist Watunabe. In addition to the main mansion, the estate has its own Carriage House, Gardener's Cottage, and Boathouse on Lake Superior.