Culbertson Mansion: Rich Experience, Thrifty Price
If the former syndicated television show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous had been around in 1867, Culbertson Mansion in New Albany, across the Ohio Rver from Louisville, would surely have been featured. Built by William S. Culbertson, once considered to be the wealthiest man in Indiana, the three-story Culbertson Mansion at 914 E. Main St. was made up of 25 rooms covering more than 20,000 square feet.
Today, you don’t have to be rich to visit the home — located in a prime spot in New Albany’s Mansion Row District — and enjoy its hand-painted ceilings, carved rosewood staircase, marble fireplaces and crystal chandeliers. Anyone can tour the grand parlors, dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchen and laundry, taking in the lifestyles of the rich — and their not-so-wealthy servants. Adult admission is a thrifty $3.50 for adults, $3 for seniors and $2 for children 4–11. Children 3 and younger are free.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn about Culbertson, who moved to New Albany from his hometown in Pennsylvania as a young man and took a job at a dry goods store. He soon rose to great success as a businessman. When he died in 1892 at the age of 78, he was worth about $3.5 million, a fortune that would translate into about $61million today.
Culbertson’s mansion changed hands several times after his death. Historic New Albany, a preservation group, bought the house in 1964, rescuing it from demolition that would have made room for a gas station. Indiana accepted the mansion as a state historic site in 1976.
In addition to the home tours, each October the mansion’s carriage house is opened as a haunted-house attraction, raising more than $30,000 annually for its restoration.
Posted on Jun 15, 2011 by Bill Wolfe
