barker mansion

Cwbjr

Great way to spend a few hours learning about regional history. The guides were two wonderful older women - both warm and engaging as well as full of knowledge. The house is beautiful and so well preserved and filled with the original furniture. I would go back again.

Thefiresidegourmet

I enjoyed the wedding I attended. The atmosphere was lovely. The lighting is very low. Because of this pics are not easy to take. The lady behind the desk was overwhelmingly starchy, to say the least. She -never- cracked a smile even when I took her pic. I told her she was part of the days memories.

gdindy

If you visit because someone in your group wants you to go and your not crazy about it you will be pleasantly surprised! Its very interesting to learn the history of this town and Mr. Barker and his family. They made a great contribution to our society and you will enjoy learning about it. Im sure some of it depends on the group your with and how they behave or misbehave? Ours was a med. size group, and we had a very engaging tour guide who had great knowledge of the mansion and the family. If a guy who got a C in history can enjoy it you will too, and after you read my sentence structure on this I won't tell you what I got in english, go and enjoy this treasure!

Mike20140118

The Barker Mansion provides a engaging and interesting historical tour of the home and the city itself. As far as mansions go, the Barker packs a lot history and interest in its relatively short existance (as far as mansions and castles go). It was interesting to hear about how Barker and his daughter influenced the city as well as the Mansion itself. Expect the tour to last 90 minutes plus, including the 11 minute video that starts things off. I noticed some other reviewers commented fairly on the docents being more knowledgeable than entertaining. They are volunteers and ours had plenty of information to share. We found that they met our expectations for this modest and understated attraction of Michigan City. This is worth the time and money ($5) if you like historic places.

KittyandFelix

The younger gal that gave us our tour was both very knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about both the mansion and her role there. Didn't get her name, but can't say enough good things about both her and the mansion. We were in a very small group and asked questions about several random items throughout the home that she didn't mention as part of her presentation (there is so much you can't possibly comment on all of it) and she gave very detailed information about each item. This was one of the first mansion tours that took you into both the kitchen and bathrooms. Almost everything was original...that is a rarity indeed. This ended up being the highlight of our visit. Even my husband was impressed, ans usually these types of places are more geared for the women.

BudNLily

We took the tour on a Saturday. There was a decently sized group for the tour. The first thing you are taken to is an 11ish minute video in the basement of the home. The docent set the video up, turned off the lights and left. The video ended, and we sat in the dark. Some people began to laugh nervously. The docent had left us and never returned. We all finally got up, turned on the lights and went upstairs. (She never told us to come upstairs after the video so no one really knew what to do.)The second docent was a nice little lady who took us on the tour of the house. She was knowledgeable about the house but any time she explained a fact about an item in the house, she faced the item rather than the group and talked to the item. This made it extremely difficult to hear her if you were in the back of the group.The house is attractive and we enjoyed learning the history, but the tour is lacking. The docents are nice, they just need training in addressing group tours.

stevenlauries

If you love 19th century architecture and Victorian opulence, touring this home is for you, The 38 room mansion was built in 1857, one block from the family business, the Haskell & Barker Railroad Car Company, ( now the site of Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets). Much of the furnishings consist of authentic Barker family artifacts, including furniture and art objects, family portraits, library collections, and personal belongings. The drawing room contains a hand carved marble fireplace and ceiling in baroque design. Other rooms are equally fascinating. We were fortunate to arrive early on a weekday, and managed to have a private tour with a knowledgeable and personable docent who cued us into many of the homes lesser known secrets.We loved the house and the tour, which also includes a video history. And when you're finished touring, stop half a block away at the McGinness Pub for lunch, then walk another half block to shop the huge selection of upscale outlet stores at Lighthouse Place!

jpatt

we had seen the reviews here on Tripadvisor...we got there on Tuesday for a 1:00 tour - total time about 90 minutes. The young tour guide was VERY knowledgeable - answered every question - so interesting to see the original rooms from the 1800's...would highly recommend

dROG

Was there June 2 supposed to be open June 1st, not open. Looks like great spot to tour, large to say the least. Unable to load picture, TA says doesn't take these kind on pix.

GarthM601

I saw the front hall after ringing the doorbell. Hard to find the hours for this place. The website is confused and the information hard to find. The place is not open weekends, a fact that even the people at the lighthouse up the street were not aware of.

IndianaDaisy

We loved the tour of the mansion. I have been here many times before and always learn something new!

BEETOO

This is a fun site to visit if you are into history. This is a local landmark and the exhibits tell a story.

AliceT291

A well preserved home. A taste of gracious living. We saw a short video before our tour began. Our tour guide BJ was wonderful--her narration was informative and she added a bit of humor as well, as some of the family history was a bit tragic. As we were here in October the flowers in the gardens were in the last stages of their bloom time, but still nice enough to enjoy. Sitting in the garden was relaxing--both the rooms and the garden were a step back in time. There were many personal items of the family to see as well. The craftsmanship of the ceilings, woodwork etc. is awesome--very hard to duplicate today, if at all. A beautiful home.

debbwym

This tour is well done and the history of the family is interesting although somewhat sad. The teenage girl of 14 was one of the richest on the planet when both of her parents died. Fantastic house and gardens. Story of people who came to the area to do one thing and saw opportunities for other things. Mr. Barker was worth over 60 million dollars in the end.

polartrill

This attraction is a nice diversion from shopping. The guided tour is kicked off by an 11 minute video in the basement. After the video you start the 1 hour and 15 minutes tour on the first floor and tour each room and see the original furnishings. There are a total of 3 floors which you do get to see and the top floor (ballroom) has many of the daughter's momentos including her Steinway piano. The backyard has a formal European style garden. The flowers were dying off when we were there, but was still lovely.