The Reitz Home Museum is a Victorian house museum located in the Riverside Historic District in downtown

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

. The museum offers year-round guided tours. 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 Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

style

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, 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. The museum is open everyday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. except Sunday and Monday.

History

John Augustus Reitz, who amassed a fortune in the lumber business, built the house in 1871 in the

French Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...

. Built to express his success, the mansion was decorated with elegant furnishings and detailed architectural features. Upon Reitz's death in the 1890s, his eldest son Francis Joseph Reitz took over the house and completely redecorated the interior in a variety of Victorian styles. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photograph The last of Reitz' children died in 1931, and the home was left to the Daughters of Isabella, a non-profit

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

women's organization. In 1944 the home was purchased by the Diocese of Evansville to become the home of its bishop. It was occupied by the first incumbent, Henry J. Grimmelsman. In 1974 the Diocese of Evansville donated the mansion to the Reitz Home Preservation Society, a non-profit organization formed to restore and preserve the home. It was officially placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973 and was opened for public tours a year later. Matt Rowe is currently the museum director.

References

External links

Reitz Home Museum official website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Evansville, Indiana Historic house museums in Indiana Museums in Evansville, Indiana Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Houses completed in 1871 Second Empire architecture in Indiana Houses in Evansville, Indiana Episcopal palaces