Winterthur Museum
Winterthur, DE 19735
(800) 448-3883
- Hours:
Tue-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
7 reviews for Winterthur Museum
We did a tour of Winterthur today and had a really good time. The grounds are awesome. They are done in what is called a naturalist style. Meaning from what we were told it is made to look wild but it is not. It can also be native plants but these particular gardens are not.
Inside the house Mr Dupont collected antiques and furniture from the Americas. There is also a painting we were able to see of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart as well as Benjamin West's unfinished painting of the signing of the peace treaty in Paris. The floor on which we took our tour had James Monroe's White House dinnerware. Which is kind of a cool collectible for our area. Or should I say another collectible for our area. The grounds and gardens are a fair amount of walking so you burn up some energy. The cafe that we visited at the house/museum was a little lacking as far a good food choices. Although that may be different with the cafeteria at the visitors center. A nice way to spend a day.
Meh, what loses me here is the $18 admission. SO not worth it. Yes, it's a great big beautiful estate owned by a dead rich guy who collected way too many furnishings and bric-a-brac. That isn't to diminish the effort of the curators and staff, and I admire the teaching institute on the grounds. But Winterthur takes itself WAY too seriously. Case in point, a series of White House-like security doors visitors must pass through, only unlocked when the guide is ready to take you into the main house. Red "hot line" phones sit at the receptionist's desk in the main house waiting room as if they'll be called upon to launch a nuclear strike any second.
The message one takes away from here is not one of unique furnishings with historic and design significance, rather "DON'T TOUCH!" and "DON'T TAKE THAT PHOTO!" and "YOU CAN ONLY SEE THIS FLOOR TODAY!". Sheesh people! Either be a museum, or find an ancient old rich lady, stick her in a petticoat, move her in and call it a day.
Your love of history, furniture design and gawking at old stuff would be better satisfied at nearby Longwood Gardens or anyplace down the road in Philly. Winterthur just isn't worth the money or the hassle unless you're really really bored and have absolutely nothing else better to do, like flossing your teeth.
3.5- great aesthetics all around
My friend got married here last August. I can't say I saw the museum all that much (and actually, I'm not much of a museum type), but I have to say the house and surrounding area are beautiful!
I guess this was an old Dupont house (for those of you who don't know, Dupont owns 85% of Delaware, or something ridiculous like that), and they turned it into a museum. It kind of reminded me of the Biltmore in NC, only on a smaller scale.
If you happen to be in Delaware, and are looking for something to do (and trust me, you will be looking for something to do), check this place out.
Chuck Norris rating- elbow smash
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Remember that movie Legend where Tom Cruise is like a fairy and he has this bitchy girlfriend who dances around and everyone loves her, including scary devil Tim Curry?
Well Winterthur reminds me of the good parts of that movie where everything is green and lush and the unicorns are still alive. It's really beautiful there, but not crowded like Longwood. I've never done a tour, I just used to make out with my high school boyfriend there under this huge weeping willow tree. That makes me think it doesn't cost anything to just go and park there and walk around gardens, cause I doubt we would have paid back then.
The Dupont house there is also really beautiful. There's this nice, fancy pool out front. When I'm there I try to block out all the other people visiting and I imagine it's my house and I'm really snotty and rich and its the 20s, Great Gatsby style.
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Winterthur is a wicked cool place if you like museums, gardens, or both. Henry Francis (H.F.) DuPont (yeah, that DuPont family!) lived in this humongous house and filled it with lots of furnishings and art. Most of the pieces there are from the mid-1600s to the mid-1800's.
Note: I guess when you are ultra-rich you can decide to do something like this - buy stuff that you want, put that ungodly amount of stuff in your really big home. I am, of course, not that rich, so I sit here and write Yelp reviews in hopes of being "noticed" and given ungodly amounts of money for my opinion.
Over 85,000 objects including furniture, plates, silverware, tools, art, rugs, etc..., though not all of it is displayed in the more than 175 rooms in the house. It's a lot of stuff.
I've been there a few times - I once dated a really nice girl who was in a graduate program at Winterthur - so she gave me a tour, more than once. I think I spent a few hours there each time, until I reached museum overload (and I love museums, usually) and then we left (probably for a bar!).
The grounds around the house are spectacular - worth walking around on a nice day. You can bring a picnic lunch, too, and eat outside, which is pretty fun.
A tour costs $15, and is worth it, in my opinion. I did not pay either time (the benefits of dating a student there...). Just don't try and see it all at once, as you will reach information saturation and become bored.
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I just got married (formally) on Saturday night, and I was trying to think of which vendor to review first. That's easy, I'll start with the best. Nicole Bailey at Winterthur is really the most amazing person ever. She's calming, incredibly organized, fun and just made the planning of the event a dream. i didn't want a lot of foof and pomp and circumstance. I wanted high-end dinner party with sexy and glamorous ambiance. The result was high-end dinner party with sexy and glamorous ambiance! LOVED this place! Everyone said the venue was amazingly gorgeous. We had such a good time. Yay Winterthur!
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This is a great destination that has excellent staff them seem happy working there! There is ample parking and a nice visitor center where you purchase tickets. There is a shuttle to take you to the galleries, tours, and gardens. In season there is a tram (I have not been on the tram). The collection of antiques is very impressive and includes furniture, textiles, ceramics etc. You can go on a well guided tour of parts of the DuPont house to see the period rooms. There is too much to see in one day though...so you may want to plan a multi-day visit or visit more than once. There are two gift shops and two cafes. The cafe in the visitor center sells very good coffee and gourmet sandwiches. There is also a salad bar, soups and hot entrees. They even have Stella Artois beer!! Classy!