Dalnavert Museum and Visitors' Centre

One of the historical landmarks to visit in Winnipeg. It's similar to places like Rutherford House in Edmonton. You're not allowed to wander freely, a staff member must accompany you but mine was very friendly to chat with. My tour took about 20 minutes. I would have liked more written information put up to provide background on the rooms and contents.

I haven't been back to this museum for a couple of decades. It is the home of Hugh MacDonald, son of Sir John A MacDonald, first prime Minister of Canada. He moved to Winnipeg to avoid his father, it is said, and set up home in this custom built mansion of the time. This is definitely an upper crust abode of its day with servant's quarters and like that, but was also the epitome of house building tech of its time. It has had a storied history and was at one point heavily modified to serve as a rooming house but was rescued from demolition and restored to its original beauty by a dedicated group of volunteers in the 80s and 90s. There are lots of good stories about that and some fun history, which my family became familiar with as my daughter and mother in law worked as guides and animators there for several years. This served me well and triggered the recent visit as I was trying to describe a problem I was working on with stretching an embroidery work piece I was working on and my daughter told me of an 19th century device at the museum that had been used to stretch the lace curtains back into shape after washing. They very kindly allowed me access to the basement storage area and the "curtain stretcher " device so I could measure it and photograph it for my 21st century art work.

It is a neat place, I recommend visits at each season as they reconfigure the exhibits to give you a view into that time of Canada's youth.

As an interesting side point. While working as a guide once, my daughter kept company with Hugh McDonald's son who regaled her with tales of visiting Ottawa and his grandfather. Not everyone can say they have heard first hand stories about one of their country's founders.

Very interesting. We are happy we went. We prepaid for a tour, very reasonable rate for a historic tour. Staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. I recommend not taking any large bags, spaces get pretty tight.

A wonderfully preserved building museum. The atmosphere is beautiful, and the guide will give you an unforgettable tour of the rooms with detailed descriptions of things and stories about the lives of their owners.

We really enjoyed learning the history of the house and our city. The wood work and architecture is amazing!

Wonderful place to visit. Good and knowledgeble guide, warm and helpful receptionist.