James J. Hill House

This was a good tour and the guides know a lot if you ask questions. The tour says 75 minutes but mine took 90 which was fine but I spoke with other people who had to leave early because they were tight on time. Call ahead to make a reservation – I had to wait for over an hour. There is a cathedral nearby and a small art museum that you can wander around but probably for at most 30 minutes. The tour is through the mansion that a railroad tycoon built in the 1890s and the family lived in until the 50s and then had a few owners until ’86. There is amazing woodworking and beautiful windows and lighting. Worth a trip and even if you cannot get a tour, you can see the art gallery and hallway into the dining room so you could just come by for 20 minutes to see it. I think a lot of people would like this tour (even people who don’t like history). The only thing I didn’t love was the video (10 minutes)

I really wanted to tour this house, so i wish the website provided better information on the tours so we could have planned better. when we got there with our kids, we were informed we could visit 3 rooms (Meh, took about 5 mins) for $ 2 a person, or we could do a 75 min tour (which basically rules out any one with small children, health issues, or older people that cant stand or walk for that long). I wish they would offer a shorter tour that would accommodate more people, or be more direct on the website of their limited tours. If you have 75 mins and no kids, no health issues, and aren’t elderly, then i would definitely recommend this place — from my limited access, the house was an amazing piece of architecture!

This tour was incredible. My supervisor treated our department to this tour as a holiday party and I really enjoyed it.
This mansion is gorgeous (woodcarving, stained glass, grand staircase, some original furniture tied to the Hill family, a working organ in an art gallery, and photos of the house to show what it looked like at the time the Hills lived there).
The most interesting part is the actual construction of the house.
If you have a membership to the historical society admission is free. It’s especially fun to go around Christmas. They decorate the already beautiful house for the holidays
Our tour guide also mentioned the Nooks and Crannies tour which goes into all the hidden parts of the house, including the servants’ quarters. I definitely want to go back for that!

This mansion is probably one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture, I have seen in a while. The woodwork throughout is absolutely marvelous, with small and large details hand carved throughout. Stained glass windows frame the massive staircase, the foyer is roughly 2,000 sq.ft., and each room is filled with such astonishing history. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and was able to answer almost every question we had and instead of listing historical facts, he delivered all information in story form (making it an interesting and entertaining 75 minutes). After the tour, we were able to roam the grounds unaccompanied, which was fantastic (it allowed us to take our time looking). My only compliant is that throughout the tour, we continued running into other tour groups and it at times felt rushed (but I assume this was by accident, as they said they had been busy all day). Will I be back? Absolutely, I love the history that goes along with old homes and will definitely see about coming back around Christmas!

Great place to check out. I love history and it does not get more close to home than this. Learn about how the old money lived and what they did to build fortunes that will never be seen again.

So much great history. Beautiful house. In depth tours. Everything about the estate is wonderful.

I did the Holiday tour where actors take you through the house as servants. I was expecting a dry historical tour, but I got a delightful surprise. The actors were excellent, it was almost like walking through a Downton Abbey episode with real history about the Hill household. The house and the history are fascinating. Very good execution from the historical society!

Time well spent.

I’ve been here twice, great time. While not originally from St. Paul this is my adopted home and I find the history very interesting, its a great place to go to stay out of the Heat of Summer or Cold of winter, cheap too, for an hour and a half of time. The tour guides have been great and the history is very interesting. There are lots of cool places and museums in St. Paul, this is nice because its quite and the house is amazing to see.

My family absolutely loved my visit to the James J Hill House during a recent trip to the Twin Cities. While I’m a card-​carrying history geek, that label certainly does not apply to the rest of my family. The fact I could get my nerd on without having my family bored to tears during the 75-​minute guided tour warrants a five star rating in and of itself.
The tour guide who took us through each room was friendly and knowledgeable; she made the experience even better. Viewing the exquisite woodwork alone is worth the modest price of admission ($ 9 for adults). Our tour guide indicated the mansion’s woodwork took 30,000 hours to carve.
Unlike many other mansion tours I have experienced, you are allowed to take pictures as you walk through the 36,000 square foot mansion. In addition to a multitude of in wonderful interior shots, you get some unique pictures of St Paul Cathedral from the second floor of the mansion.
The children of James Hill removed much of the original furniture from the house when they donated the mansion to the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul in 1925. However, family members have returned many of those pieces in subsequent years.
We visited on St Patrick’s Day weekend, so for Irish Heritage Day, were treated to bagpipe music in addition to a demonstrations of the three story pipe organ.
The tour includes a 10-​minute biographical video on James J. Hill.

I grew up in the Twin Cities, but never went on this house tour until today with a couple friends. It was really interesting and fun. We learned about James J Hill himself– his personality, his reputation, how he created his railroad empire, and how he designed his mansion.
The house itself is, as expected, totally gorgeous. Everything was intricate and immaculate, from the stained glass windows to the custom woodwork to the double-​skylight art gallery. You learn about the era it was built and why things are this way or that — the light fixtures were built to handle gas lamps OR electric bulbs (in case electric light ended up being just a fad — it was only invented 10 years prior, after all), the wall light switches twisted, which is why we continue to say «turn on the light» today. Even their laundry system was revolutionary for the time. Definitely going back for the «nooks and crannies» tour where you can explore even more of the house.

I really enjoyed my experience here, but it’s not as friendly and accommodating as Glensheen Mansion. I was also surprised to learn that there wasn’t really a gift shop. Overall, the house is great! The tour guide was very knowledgeable. I’m hoping the events they host are a bit more festive.

The tour was great. The docent was very knowledgeable. The house is amazing, and you get to see all he restored parts over 4 floors. I hadn’t heard of him but he was apparently one of the richest Americans at one time, and the house was the biggest in Minnesota.

What a cool little piece of history! I had some family in from out of town who really appreciate old victorian homes, so we came here for a visit. The tour was lovely and as it was a weekend they even had a live organ player in the organ room. This house was enormous and really took you back in time to see all the the fixtures and clothing from that period.
The laundry room was both scary and really made me appreciate my washing machine. This is a great half day outing and the tour was just the right length with enough history and stories to make it interesting. Worth checking out even if your not into victorian homes, you’ll appreciate your modern conveniences much more, I promise!

Went here exclusively for the current art gallery exhibit, titled «Ded Unk’unpi — We Are Here». On view until January 13, 2013. It costs $ 2.
The art pieces are displayed in the original mansion-owner’s «art gallery» room. The space felt conducive to lingering, pondering, thinking about the U.S. — Dakota War of 1862, an oft-​overlooked part of our history, one, like others, that had far-​reaching effects.
Go and get yourself to the exhibit before you miss it — no need to make a reservation — just go during their open business hours.

I ended up going during their holiday special «Hill for the Holidays.» They show the first floor and basement, so you don’t get the full tour, but you do get to be a part of a show they put on. Basically actors play staff from about early 1900. It’s a fun time and I imagine a bit different from the actual tour. The house itself is spectacular and I am going to go back to get the full guided tour next time.
A quick note about parking. Keep an eye out for parking limits (most are 2 hours, so you should be okay), and be sure to park at least 5′ away from driveways. They are very narrow and can be easily missed during winter. If you drive around a bit though, you should find free parking on the same street as the Hill House.

I have been here before and will be back again. Our guide was perhaps the best one I have ever had anywhere. I think her name is Angie. She really knows her stuff. She is friendly and enthusiastic. They are lucky to have her.
If you are an Ayn Rand fan this place is a must. You will totally get it!
Check out the cathedral when you are done. Walk around the yard, and the neighborhood. Pull up your Zillow app and check out the surrounding «homes»
One of my favorite museums.

Amazing historical beautiful house and tour, on a very pretty historical street of St. Paul. The tour here is so interesting! Definitely a must see in Minnesota. I’ve taken tours through the Historical Society… and they are so awesome. If you can, take the «Nooks and Crannies» tour… it is so interesting! It goes beyond the regular historical architectual tour… and explores the back staircases, dust chutes, silver vault, the top-​floor attic with original theater, taking the back stairs to the basement, viewing the coal storage area… oh gate house overlooking Summit Avenue is interesting, too. The interior of mansion has some special features that are very unique. The wood décor is beautifully crafted and the art collection is wonderful. Oh yes, there’s the pipe organ, someone actually played it during our tour. Learning about the James J Hill family a fascinating family, is quite interesting as well.

This was a great tour!
The husband and I took my mom and sister here when they were visiting this fall and they really enjoyed it. The tour is extensive and thorough — the tour guides are all very nice and super accommodating.
The James J. Hill house is a definite must see for anyone who is into history, trains, wood work or old mansions. The story of the family is remarkable and the house follows suit.

I’m always looking for new ways to be a tourist in my own town. This place was amazing, and I wish I could have seen more of it. As it was, the tour took 2 hours and we only saw a quarter of the rooms available, and no third floor (because of fire regulations). The tour guide was charming, and had a lot of funny bits of information — and quizzed us. It’s sad that there is hardly any of the original furniture in the house, and they refuse to put any non-​original items into it. (Without the furniture, I can’t give it a 5-​star rating.)
I’m excited to go back for their Nooks-​and-​Crannies tour, where they let you go into the other rooms! This includes the servants’ quarters, and the daughters’ rooms. One thing you might want to check out, which they don’t show you on the tour — the apartment building down the hill was actually J.J. Hill’s old house (they tell you that) made into a stable, so go drive down and check it out — and at the gate was a fully-​functioning house for the guardman. Go peek in the windows!

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a blogger tour of the James J. Hill House on Summit Ave. I’ve walked past this mansion many times before and was excited to finally get inside. I was immediately impressed by the abundant and intricate woodwork. It’s absolutely stunning home.
From the secret doors to the attic stage, the hand painted leather wallpaper and gold ceilings, the laundry drying racks in the basement and the pipe organ, this house is very special and there is a lot to see.
Tours generally run about $ 8, the Nooks and Crannies Tour is a bit more at $ 10. I highly recommend the Nooks and Crannies Tour to really see the most but unfortunately, there aren’t any Nooks and Crannies tours scheduled until June 2012.
Tip: To stay authentic, they have authentic 15 watt lightbulbs illuminating the mansion. It’s very dim so go on a day when the sun is out shining!