MILWAUKEE — The Pabst Mansion is going to reopen on April 10 after being closed for over a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It has been a long time coming, but employees at the mansion are excited to finally open the doors for people who have literally been coming every weekend trying to get inside.
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"Cars pull up all day and even though it says on the front we are closed, we get probably 40, 50 people that want to take pictures of the mansion and want to kind of peak in the window. So we are really excited we can open back up," Gary Strothmann, the director of guest services at the Pabst Mansion, said.
It was the first time I got to go inside the mansion, and it was absolutely beautiful. I should have gone inside a lot sooner when things were more normal.
Just as many things have changed since the start of the pandemic, going to the Pabst Mansion is a little different than it was pre-pandemic.
Some of the most important things to know:
- It opens April 10
- Masks are required inside
- Reservations are not required but are recommended
- All tours are self-guided
"People will be able to come in, they will be given a brochure. They will be able to see the house, spend as little or as much time they want to see the house, and our docents will be stationed at each floor to answer any of the questions that they might have," Storthmann said.
To start, the mansion will only be open Friday through Sunday. However, in May they hope to open it up to Thursday through Monday. The current hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Once the mansion opens up more, they plan on having some fun activities to entice people to come. On Sundays, there will be a children's tour that is followed by a mimosa-themed tour. They also plan to have a tour at the end of the day that includes a beer.
Also, a note on the myth that the mansion is haunted. According to Strothmann, that's not true. Its origins date back to an old fundraising trick the "fledgling museum" tried out back in the day. They hosted a haunted house during Valentine's Day. It only lasted a few years, but then the fun event took on a life of its own, turning into a rumor that the building was truly haunted. Strothmann said twice during my time with him, that's not true.