The Franklin Room

Hello, my name is Joe Imholte, and I am the Vice President of Programs and Operations here at The Bakken Museum.

We call this room The Franklin Room, but when this house was a home, this room was the study.  

At the request of the original homeowner, William Goodfellow, all the pained glass you see in this room depicts plants native to Minnesota. Can you find the Minnesota state flower in the windows of this room?

The decoration on the fireplace hood reads, “Fire is the soul of all things,” in Latin. And the floor of this room features a unique cost-saving design.  The floor isn't tile, rather its concrete, scored and painted to look like tile.

“West Winds” was the name given to this 15-room Tudor-style home. Construction began in 1928 and was completed in 1930, the height of the Tudor Revival period.  The home combines several earlier architectural styles. For example, the heavy stone construction and arched windows of the Gothic style blend with the wood beam and stucco construction of the Tudor style.