Wanda Gag Childhood Home

This is a very famous home in New Ulm. It's the childhood home of Wanda Gag, author of the book Millions of Cats. The house is distinctive when you first see it, but as you look more closely inside and out, you will see that it is quite unusual and unique. Look at the photos in the blog posts that follow to get an idea of the quaintness and charm of this house. Then, go to New Ulm on a weekend in the summer and tour the house.

Wanda Gag House - Exterior

This shows the side of the house with a turret window. On the right side of the photo you can see a little bit of the front porch. On the left side is some of the back of the house. There is also a sign, I'm thinking possibly made of copper, that says Wanda Gag House, or something similar. It is somewhat difficult to make out the words unless you get up really close. Now, think for a minute. Is this house really charming? Yes! Would you like to be the person that gives it a new coat of paint in a few years? Probably not! I should have taken notes because there are some details that I'm not 100% sure of, but I think there are seven colors of paint used on the exterior.

Special Open House

On Sunday when we happened to be at NadelKunst, the woman there told us about a Special Open House at the Wanda Gag House. There were some watercolors on display by Flavia Gag and we were encouraged to go see them. It sounded interesting, so we made sure we stopped by on our way out of town. We are glad we did. We got to see the watercolors plus we got a tour of the house. We also bought a few books. There was a nice table in the parlor with cheese, sausage, crackers and grapes. We had just eaten at Lola's American Bistro a short time before that so we were not hungry, but it did look delicious.

Skylight

Can you see the skylight in the upper left corner of this photo? Notice how bright this room is because of that skylight. Lots of artwork on the wall in this room upstairs. And there are two rooms that go into the attic here, one to the left of the photo and one to the right.

Photos of Wanda

On the wall here are two photos of Wanda Gag. There is a lot of artwork throughout the house by Wanda and by other family members. The house is kept as authentic as possible and perhaps that is one of the reasons there is not furniture in it. The original furniture would probably not be in existence any more. Also, it makes it easier to move around the cozy rooms and see all the artwork that is part of the house: the ceilings, the walls, the floors and even the doors.

Tiny Window

Can you see that little triangle of a window half way up the stairs? How many people would think to do it that way? Probably most people would either move the window or make the window smaller. There are also skylights in the house to let in more light for all the artists in the family.

Wall and Ceiling Detail - Wallpaper

This looks like the room is in the process of being redone or undone. But I think this is the way the house was. Anton would try out different samples right in the house to see what it looked like and also to show people what he could do.

Wall and Ceiling Detail - Border

This border runs along the top of the wall and also around the edges of the ceiling. That little white circle most likely covers a hole where a stovepipe went through the ceiling in days gone by. It would have been interesting to watch as this border was painted. How did Anton Gag get the lines so straight? How did he decide on the colors? How long did it take him to complete the border around the whole room? It would be interesting to know all these answers.

Wall and Ceiling Detail - Lions

Lions are all over the place. Here you can see them in a brightly lit room at top of the walls. They are in a lot of places in the house. I think Martha Stewart would have liked this house. Maybe she would have gotten some of her inspiration from the whimsical details used throughout the home.

Wall and Ceiling Detail - Stencil

You need to look up to see some of the artwork in the house. Some of the rooms have stencils around the top of the walls, but this photo shows artwork that was drawn free-hand by Anton if I remember correctly what the tour guide said.

Wanda Gag House Tour Hours

During the summer season or prime tourist time, the Wanda Gag House is open on the weekends as follows:

Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Other times by appointment. We enjoyed looking at the house and would recommend it. We plan on touring it again next time we go to New Ulm.