LASR.net Homepage

Menu

Watkins Community Museum of History


category : Museums
Watkins Community Museum of History The Watkins Museum anchors the south end of downtown on Massachusetts Street. The three-story red brick building houses exhibits and artifacts of the area's history, including a display on the history of basketball. Current exhibits include "Early Settlement," which details Lawrence as an 1850's Free State fortress, and "On the Banks of the Kaw," an exhibit of Douglas County dating back 300 million years, when the area was once a shallow inland sea. Notable artifacts include a restored 1920 Milburn electric car, a 1900 surrey with a fringe top, and an 1878 two room children's playhouse.

Perhaps the most significant exhibit of the Watkins Community Museum is the building itself. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is a Richardsonian Romanesque building, considered to be one of the finest examples of such a building in the State of Kansas. The wide round arches around the windows and entrances are indicative of the style. The building features ash on the first floor for the main woodwork and then oak on the second floor, and then yellow curly pine or burly pine as it's called on the top floor. The beauty of the 45 foot tall and 25 foot wide stairwell and attractive marble mosaic floors complement the wainscoting of Tennessee marble and Mexican onyx. The eye is drawn to the 25 foot long hanging chandelier with its brass, simulated jewel encrusted, glass-globed, two-part fixture.

Commissioned by Lawrence financier, Jabez Bunting ("J.B.") Watkins, the future Watkins Land Mortgage and National Bank was constructed between 1885 and 1888. It was designed by Cobb and Frost, two architects from Chicago, who also designed the Palmer Home of Chicago of the 19th century as well as the terminal of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.


Admission: Free Admission
Hours: April-November Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. December-March Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Address: 1047 Massachusetts Street
Phone: 785-841-4109
Our Email: info@watkinsmuseum.org
Our Website:www.watkinsmuseum.org

Come visit us in Lawrence, Kansas

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Prairie Park Nature Center

This center hosts a vast system of trails, a bird watching area and prairie observatory. The main building houses nine permanent exhibits plus a classroom, gift shop and meeting room. The park encompasses 71 acres and contains approximately eight acres of virgin, never plowed prairie with nearly 180

Lawrence, KS Learning Centers

Wilcox Classical Museum at Kansas University

Life-size plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture and antiquities, such as vases and coins, are a part of this collection established in 1888

Lawrence, KS Museums

Kansas University

Since its opening in 1866, the University of Kansas has had a major influence on the city of Lawrence. With an enrollment of more than 25,000

Lawrence, KS Colleges

Haskell Cultural Center and Museum

The Haskell Cultural Center serves as a Visitor Center for the campus and features exhibits from the university's archival and artifact collections. It provides a learning center for Haskell students, faculty, and the public to understand more about Haskell'

Lawrence, KS Museums

Museum of Anthropology

The Museum of Anthropology focuses on people from around the world, how they make their living, how they communicate and get along with one another and what they believe. The museum'

Lawrence, KS Museums

Things to do Museums near Lawrence, KS

Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum

Heartland Orthodox Christian Museum

Eudora Community Museum

Santa Fe Depot Museum

Truckhenge /Lessman Farm

We offer a little bit of everything - art, fishing, music events, etc. Many cities have zoos and parks. But, there is only o...