James J. Hill House

If you're looking to immerse yourself in the history of the Twin Cities, this is the place! The guided tours are amazingly indepth and you learn all kinds of wonderful tidbits of James J Hill, the Twin Cities, and The Gilded Age. We recently went for the Holidy on the Hill and it was wonderful to see everything decorated up for Season!

The house is beautiful and so well adorned, in many cases with original items. Our tour guide, Joseph, was amazing! His presentation was interesting, fun, and thorough. His knowledge of the home, residents, and era was astonishing; he was able to answer even my obscure questions. It's clear that Joseph loves his job. While it would be nice to just look around the house on your own, I highly recommend a docent-led tour to provide context.

The place is amazing. I understand the pricing. But why have so much closed off? What this should be advertised as is explore the first floor and a couple rooms of the rest of the house.

This was such a lovely visit! I've been meaning to visit more Twin Cities museums this year, and I'm so glad I came here.Who was James J. Hill? He was a railroad tycoon that was CEO Great Northern Railway. He amassed a HUGE fortune in this industry, hence the mansion.What's special about this house?He built this house for what was almost a million dollars back in 1891, which accounting for just inflation would be around $30 million today...What can you do here?Explore the main floor where the Hills hosted guests (sometimes up to 1200!), and then take a tour of the house to see the other floors.What's the tour like?Enjoy an hour-long guided tour by a guide that is extremely knowledgeable about the Hill family, house, and history! You'll see some of the bedrooms and bathrooms on the 2nd floor, servant quarters on the 3rd, learn more about the entertaining spaces, and the basement to see the coal-fired heating system, kitchen, and more.Tours depart every 30 minutes, walk ins welcome!When are they open:Thursday to Saturday 10am - 4pm and Sunday 11am - 4pmHow much does it cost?$12 for adults, with other discounts available.Enjoy!

We enjoyed the tour. Interesting to learn about his life and family as well as his business. Beautiful area of St Paul. I recommend walking across the street and going into St Paul's Cathedral to see that as well.

We had an amazing tour guide. He made the house come alive! Thank you for making it a five star activity!

So I was in Minnesota for my daughters volleyball tournament, looking for a Catholic Church to go to for Sunday mass. I found myself driving to the Cathedral of St. Paul which is another must-see if you're in the Twin Cities area. But as I was driving out noticed an AMAZING house almost across the street~ the James J. Hill House!I stopped to admire it and quickly realized you can actually go inside and take a tour. Once you enter there's a cute little gift shop inside run by a very friendly staff. I paid for ticket and caught the last tour of the day.All I can say is, I was completely blown away by the beauty and history of this home. The design and craftsmanship are remarkable. Our guide was very knowledgeable and kept everyone's attention. The pictures speak for themselves ~Just trust me... Put the James J.Hill house on your bucket list The next time you visit Minnesota! And don't forget to drive or even take a nice stroll down Summit Avenue (weather permitting)~ all of the homes are unique and gorgeous!!!

Maybe it's because I'm fond of turn of the century history, but I am so glad I went to the James J Hill House because I feel so smart whenever I see his name, and it comes up a lot when I read nonfiction. Why, just the other day in a biography of Theodore Roosevelt his name came up in a lawsuit, and I got an "Ah ha! I've been to his house!" moment. The house is gorgeous, decorated with a mix of period pieces and modern exhibits. The tour is a little long, but if you enjoy history/local history/pretty house/need to kill an afternoon, completely worth it.

If you're into historic landmarks and old houses in general and just happen to be in Minnesota with about 2 hours to spare, then this is a place that you should visit. At first, I was mostly intrigued with how the house looked outside... Grand and it looked like it had cost a fortune to build it back in the day and it did!The tour was 1.5 hours long and our tour guide was knowledgeable so we got to learn about the history of the house, the Hill family, their lifestyle. It was Downtown Abbey-esque in a way with their live-in domestic staff and fancy lifestyle. You get to see 4 levels of the house including the basement where the servants prepped meals, lived and did their respective household duties. The rooms were grand with specially carved wood, none of that Ikea stuff but the most impressive was probably the ball room entrance with the staircase. I could only imagine how magical it must have been walking through the entry doors, handing over your coat to a servant and looking up at the magnificent, handcarved staircases!Overall, I had a great time visiting this landmark and recommend it to those who share the same interest!

This is a beautiful mansion, and lovely tour, with lots of history.I would love to go back to see it with its holiday decorations.