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Family Fun Directory of Things To Do with Kids:
James J. Hill House – Guided Tours and Gallery
Located near the Cathedral of St. Paul, the James J. Hill House is a Gilded Age mansion that was the residence of James J. Hill and his family. Hill built the Great Northern Railway. The house is open year round Wednesday-Sunday for guided tours, but reservations are recommended. The art gallery is open daily.
James J. Hill House Pipe Organ
The recently restored 1891 pipe organ is one of the features of this historic home. The project to bring the organ back to reliable and playable condition was begun and completed in 2018. The organ was sent offsite to Dobson Pipe Organ Builders in Iowa to be rehabbed. Work included fighting deterioration of original wood and leather and releathering portions, repairing pipework, and replacing irreparable elements with new, but historically accurate, parts.
Exhibits at the James J. Hill House Art Gallery
The art gallery was built by James J. Hill to showcase is collection of French landscape paintings, much of which is now owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Today, the gallery displays rotating exhibits. Current exhibits can be found here. Usually, visitors can view the Art Gallery exhibits for free as part of a James J. Hill House tour or separately with a $2 art gallery admission.
