Winchester Mystery House 

Description

A very strange house built by Sarah L. Winchester, heir to the fortune made by her husband from his creation and manufacture of the famous Winchester rifle.

The story goes that Sarah Winchester consulted a fortune teller after her husband's death in 1881.  The fortune teller supposedly informed her that the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifle wanted revenge upon her.  To appease them, she must build a house, and keep building for as long as she lived.  There's considerable debate as to whether any of this is true, but if it isn't, it ought to be.

The house was continously under construction from 1884 until her death in 1922.  It cost an estimated $5.5 million dollars to build, which would be equivalent to about $70 million today.  (For comparison, that's roughly what Bill Gates' garden shed cost.)  It has about 160 rooms, and covers more than 4 acres.

The house was built without any master blueprints ever being made, and there was apparently no overall design for the house.  Rooms were built wherever Ms. Winchester felt like adding them, without much regard to whether they would be useful or even accessible.  The result might be described generously as "choatic", and might more accurately be referred to as "as screwed up as a football bat".

Main Web Site

http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Location

525 South Winchester Boulevard, San Jose, CA

Drive Time

from Ames (per Google maps):  20 minutes to 30 minutes, depending on traffic

Public Transit

Hours

Opens at 9 AM, 7 days a week

Last estate tour is 3 PM (winter) or 5 PM (summer)

Last mansion tour is 5 PM (winter) or 7 PM (summer)

Cost

$28.95 Grand Estate Tour

$23.95 Mansion Tour only

$20.95 Behind-the-Scenes Tour only