Winona is a river city in the Mississippi River bluff country of Minnesota. Its origins date back to 1851 and many of the buildings in the historic downtown district are from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Parks, museums and walking tours are among Winona's tourist attractions. Many of the places to visit in the city relate directly to the Mississippi River.
This Winona attraction houses four galleries of artwork inspired mostly by the Mississippi River. Maritime artifacts include two figureheads from ships of the 1800s and a Tiffany stained-glass window. Work by the Hudson River school of artists such as Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt are shown along with maritime-themed paintings by French Impressionist painters Renoir, Monet and Pissarro. Among the museum's permanent displays are cyanotype photographs taken by Henry Bosse of the Mississippi in the 1800s and a folk art collection of carved and painted wood sculptures by husband and wife Leo and Marilyn Smith. Some museum displays are traveling exhibits on loan for about six weeks. An American prairie garden containing 60,000 plantings of native flora surrounds the museum. A walkway along the river has tables and chairs set up for visitors to watch for barge or boat traffic.
Minnesota Marine Art Museum
800 Riverview Drive
Winona, MN 55987
866-940-6626 or 507-474-6626
minnesotamarineart.org
The Watkins Heritage Museum and Store tells the story of the Watkins Co. and the natural products it has made since 1868. In that year, J.R. Watkins began to produce and sell his liniment. The product line grew to include organic and natural seasonings and spices as well as personal care, health care and medicinal items, all made of nontoxic and natural ingredients. After a visit to the museum, tourists may purchase some of the current offerings in the Watkins store. Designed by George Washington Maher between 1889 and 1914, the Watkins buildings that surround the museum are representative of the Prairie School architectural style. The ornate administration building features marble, Tiffany-stained glass, Italian tile and a dome with a 24-karat-gold leaf. The entire manufacturing complex appears on the National Register of Historic Places.
Watkins Heritage Museum and Store
150 Liberty St.
Winona, MN 55987
507-457-6095
JRWatkins.com
When in Winona, visitors should stroll the grounds of Windom Park to see the statue of We-no-nah, the American Indian maiden for whom the city is named. Other attractions to enjoy in this park, which is landscaped in Victorian style, are the eight-sided gazebo, the perennial garden and a fountain with a turtle and pelican statuary.
Windom Park
Huff and West Broadway Street
Winona, MN 55987
One of Winona's parks with the most facilities, Lake Park is home to the C.A. Rohrer Rose Garden. This garden has been in the park since 1957. It is a stunning display of about 200 varieties of roses, arranged by color in raised stonework beds. Veterans Memorial Park has large stone memorials to the war dead from the Civil War up to the Vietnam War. Lake Park contains a gazebo, a bandshell, 5.5 miles of paths for biking and hiking and a disc-golf course. Located on Lake Winona, there is a beach, playground, fishing dock and places to have a picnic lunch. Part of the lake shoreline within the park is planted with native flora in an effort to offer natural habitat for wildlife. Sugar Loaf Bluff may be seen across the lake from the park.
Lake Park
W. Lake St.
Winona, MN 55987
This antiques and crafts store is in the 1862 building once used by Bub's Brewery and is located at the foot of Sugar Loaf Bluff. The store has incorporated three caves in the base of the bluff, which were originally used to keep the brewery's products cool. These caves and the building's 13 additional rooms provide 35,000 square feet of display space for antiques and crafts. Coins, linens, glassware, furniture, vintage clothing and other memorabilia take up the interior of the building. The historic marker for Sugar Loaf Bluff may be seen on Parks Avenue off State Highway 61. Sugar Loaf Bluff has a tall limestone formation that looks like a narrow loaf of off-colored sugar sitting atop a mound of darker rock.
Sugar Loaf Antiques and Crafts
1023 Sugar Loaf Road
Winona, MN 55987
507-452-9593
sugarloafantiquesandcrafts.com
The county's history museum is in a three-story building built in 1915 that was formerly used as the city's National Guard Armory. One of the interesting sights to explore in the children's section of the museum is a river steamboat. The hands-on children's exhibit also includes a Native American tipi and a cave similar to those found in the Mississippi bluff country. The gallery shows a visual timeline of events in Winona County's history, from the formation of the bluffs to the Minnesota territory's rambunctious origins and the Cold War era. Other exhibits include antique vehicles and historical descriptive displays of the county's industries, modes of transportation and commerce and trade. The museum also maintains a large collection of photos, documents and correspondences for research. These are found in the Laird Lucas Library on the ground level of the museum.
Winona County Historical Society Museum
160 Johnson St.
Winona, MN 55987
507-454-2723
winonahistory.org
