Glensheen Mansion Works to Freshen Up Its Image

DULUTH – Sixty-five thousand visitors come to the Glensheen Mansion every year."It's amazing just the excellence is there everywhere that you go," Glensheen sales and events coordinator Jane Pederson said. But nationally visits to house museums are on the decline. To preserve Glensheen’s mission and elevate its presence, staff members are changing up the mansion's tone."Just to really help Glensheen stand out as the local gem that it is," said Pederson."Now we are saying this is a place that you should come and this should be on your North Shore bucket list," Glensheen marketing director Lucie Amundsen said. For starters, they've revamped their marketing."Trying to make history much more accessible and exciting," said Amundsen. For the first time in nearly 40 years, family photos and selfies are allowed inside the mansion."There was pent up demand for sure. People wanted to share Glensheen," said Amundsen. Visitors can now tour more rooms and take a guided walk around the seven acres of land to learn more about the surprising history of the estate's trail system and horticulture."We're really responding to what people want and people want these exclusive behind the scenes peeks," said Amundsen. “It's a pleasure to give it to them." They've also added a new tour that lets you explore the mansion at night with a flashlight."It is not a ghost tour, but we do show people how beautiful our artifacts are at night," said Amundsen. But this isn't all Glensheen is planning to offer. There’s a lot more in store. "We hope by the end of next season to have a nooks and cranny tour," said Amundsen. “So that would be something new for us." Since they've made some of these changes, visits to Glensheen has gone up. The mansion is open Saturday and Sunday from 10-3 p.m.