Salisbury House & Gardens

Museums, Historical Sites, and ZoosUnited States2-10 Employees

Salisbury House & Gardens is a historic house museum located in Des Moines, Iowa featuring a 42-room estate surrounded by nine acres of beautiful gardens and serene woodlands.  The exquisite Tudor estate was built from 1923-1928 by cosmetic magnate, Carl Weeks, and his wife Edith as their family home.  The estate's Tudor stone work, Gothic arches and Carolean brickwork were inspired by the King's House in Salisbury, England. The stately interiors include intricate woodwork and architectural detail from 15th and 16th century Britain.  Carl and Edith Weeks were avid and skilled collectors of books, art, historic documents, musical instruments and fine furnishings.  Most of their original furnishings and collections remain at Salisbury House.

Major art works by such luminaries as Sir Anthony van Dyck, Leon Kroll, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Joseph Stella and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema line the walls, while signed books and documents from Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, Queen Elizabeth I, James Joyce, Brigham Young, D.H. Lawrence, King Ferdinand of Aragon and many others tangibly bring history to life.  Carl and Edith Weeks embraced culture over ostentation, and creativity over opulence.  The Salisbury House & Gardens collections remain among our Nation's most distinctive as a result of their discernment.

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