Porter House extends its season

ThePorter House Museum,401 West Broadway, is coming to the end of its regular opening season.  Each year, this popular museum is open duringJune, July, and August.  This year,instead of closing on the last day of August, the Porter House will be open throughLabor Day.  Regular hours will be ineffect for this extension: 1through 4 September from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday,5 September, from 1 to 4 p.m.; and Labor Day (6 September) from 10 a.m. to 4p.m.

 AfterLabor Day, the Porter House will close for the season, but its friends andmembers  always look forward to specialevents there at Hallowe'en and in early December for the special Christmas OpenHouse.

 This summer has been a busy time forthe Porter House, with more visitors than ever during Nordic Fest.  There have also been a large number oftourists who enjoy Decorah and stop by for a tour of the house and its landmarkrock wall.  This year, there have beenvisitors from 21 different states, as well as from France,Turkey, and Canada.   The Porter House Museum and its contentsare of interest to visitors of all ages, with its historic interiors and largecollections of natural history specimens, especially its displays ofbutterflies from around the world, as well as spiders, beetles, and otherunusual entomological examples of interest. The house also contains a stuffed mongoose, as well as a ivory-billedwoodpecker, long thought to have become extinct.   Visitors to the Porter House often use theirvisit as the starting point for a tour of the other nineteenth-century housesin the Broadway historic residential district and a visit to Phelps Park.  The Porter House welcomes all visitors duringthese last days of summer.  Admission is$5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for children over 6, with kids under 6 freewith an adult.