Reitz Home Museum
Encyclopedia
The Reitz Home Museum is a Victorian
house museum located in the Riverside Historic District
in downtown Evansville, Indiana
. The museum offers year-round guided tours to the city's only Victorian house museum.
An authentic restoration offers visitors a step back in time with silk damask-covered walls, hand painted ceilings, delicately molded plaster friezes, and intricately patterned hand-laid wood parquet floors. Other features of the home include tiled and marbled fireplaces, stained glass windows, and French gilt chandeliers. Much of the home is decorated with original period furniture.
Considered by many to be one of the finest examples of the French Second Empire style architecture
, the home has been featured in several issues of Victorian Homes magazine as well as Victorian Decorating and Lifestyle magazine.
In 2003 the home received a commendation from the Victorian Society in America for the preservation and restoration of the Victorian mansion.
s.
In the 1970's the Reitz Home Preservation Society, a non-profit organization, was formed to restore and preserve the home. It was officially placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1973.
Matt Rowe is currently the museum director.
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
house museum located in the Riverside Historic District
Riverside Historic District (Evansville, Indiana)
The Riverside Historic District is a U.S. historic district located in downtown Evansville, Indiana. It was added to the register in 1978 and roughly bounded by Southlane Drive, Walnut, Third, and Parrett Streets. It consists of and 425 buildings. It is also known as the Riverside...
in downtown Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
. The museum offers year-round guided tours to the city's only Victorian house museum.
An authentic restoration offers visitors a step back in time with silk damask-covered walls, hand painted ceilings, delicately molded plaster friezes, and intricately patterned hand-laid wood parquet floors. Other features of the home include tiled and marbled fireplaces, stained glass windows, and French gilt chandeliers. Much of the home is decorated with original period furniture.
Considered by many to be one of the finest examples of the French Second Empire style architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, the home has been featured in several issues of Victorian Homes magazine as well as Victorian Decorating and Lifestyle magazine.
In 2003 the home received a commendation from the Victorian Society in America for the preservation and restoration of the Victorian mansion.
History
John Augustus Reitz, who amassed a fortune in the lumber business, built the house in 1871 in the French Second Empire style. His eldest son Francis Joseph took over the house after his death in the 1890s and redecorated the interior in a variety of Victorian styleVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
s.
In the 1970's the Reitz Home Preservation Society, a non-profit organization, was formed to restore and preserve the home. It was officially placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1973.
Matt Rowe is currently the museum director.