Voigt House in Grand Rapids, Kent County, United States | Museum

Welcome to Voigt House Museum, Grand Rapids, United States. The Voigt House Victorian Museum, a property of the Public Museum, is a rare "time capsule" showing what life was like for the Midwest upper class over a hundred years ago.

The three-story brick mansion was finished in 1896, and members of the Voigt family lived there for 76 years. The last Voigt occupant left it to the city and no one has lived there since. The lower level was last re-decorated in 1907. The same silk wall covering has been hanging for over a century. Closets and dressers contain the Voigt's clothes and personal belongings. Original prescription bottles in the medicine cabinet are labeled “Miss Voigt.”

The house reflects life in the early 1900s. Cisterns stored rainwater from the slate roof, used for washing. Electric service was unreliable, so lamps use both electricity and gas. A door has an elegant knob on the family’s side and a plain knob on the side facing the servants’ quarters. The device used to ring for the servants is still functional, and can be observed in the kitchen.

The Voigt House Museum, Grand Rapids grounds include the original carriage house, kitchen garden, historic flower gardens and borders and in keeping with the ethnic heritage of the family, a linden tree in the front yard.  Temporary themes and exhibits illustrate various aspects of the Victorian Era lifestyle such as weddings, travel, clothing, and holiday celebrations.