Group Tours at Gropius House (1938)

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Explore a revolution

A National Historic Landmark

Walter Gropius, founder of the German design school known as the Bauhaus, came to teach at Harvard in 1937 and designed this house as his family home. Modest in scale, Gropius House was revolutionary in its influence. It combined familiar elements of New England houses—wood siding, stone foundation, and brick chimney—with industrial materials like glass block, acoustical plaster, and chrome banisters, and the latest technology in fixtures.

Every aspect of the house and its surrounding landscape was planned for maximum efficiency and simplicity of design. The house contains family possessions and an important collection of Bauhaus furniture designed by Marcel Breuer.

Location:
68 Baker Bridge Road, Lincoln, Mass.
781-259-8098

Hours of Operation:

May – October, Thursday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
November – April, Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
All group tours must be scheduled by appointment. In addition to open days, group tours may be scheduled at times the museum is closed to the public.

Specialty Tours

We are happy to work with you to customize your experience.

Guided House Tour: Enjoy an approximately one hour guided tour; please allow one and a half hours for your visit.
Guided Landscape Tour: Walter Gropius believed that the relationship of a house to its landscape was of paramount importance, and he designed the grounds of his family home in 1938 as carefully as the architecture itself.
Twilight Tour: Take the guided house tour at night to see how Walter Gropius’s innovative lighting scheme comes to life after sunset.
Evening at Gropius: During the evening slideshow presentation and house tour, see how Gropius’s innovative lighting scheme comes to life at night. Light refreshments provided.
Hip Sips: The 1938 home of one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century, architect and teacher Walter Gropius, showcases the clean, contemporary lines of Modern design. Enjoy a 1968 themed evening house tour followed by a reception featuring trendy ’60s refreshments. Hip 1960s mod attire encouraged.

Ati’s Tour: See Gropius House from a child’s point of view. Daughter Ati Gropius was thirteen years old when she and her famous parents designed their Lincoln home in 1938. Ati had three wishes for her new house: to sleep under the stars, to come and go from her own private entryway, and to have a special play space for her and her friends. The tour is followed by a hands-on activity.
Photo Safari: Following a brief overview tour, use this mid-century Modern icon as inspiration for dynamic interior and exterior photography. Photography for personal use only.
Large Group Open House: Visitors have an hour to wander at their own pace through the house and garden with guides available to discuss highlights of the architecture, landscape, and collection. For groups of at least 35 guests.

Tour Details

Up to 10 visitors can tour the house with each guide; generally we can accommodate up to 30 visitors in the house in one hour. Accommodations can be made for larger groups.
Please note that the tour requires a considerable amount of standing and stair climbing. If members of your group need special assistance, please let the museum know in advance.

Cost:

Guided House Tour: $25 per adult and $22 per senior and/or student for groups of 10 or more visitors. Additional rates apply for all other tours. Prices subject to change.
Receptive tour operator rates available upon request.
Tour leader or class instructor and bus driver are welcome to a complimentary tour with the group.
A non-refundable deposit based on your maximum number is due upon booking. The outstanding balance must be paid when the group arrives on-site for the tour.
Please call two weeks in advance to confirm a guaranteed number of visitors.

Nearby Attractions:

A wide variety of restaurants, shops, historic sites, museums, and attractions near Gropius House include: DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Mass Audubon, Orchard House, Concord Museum, Lexington Historical Sites, Minuteman National Park, Trails End Cafe, Colonial Inn, and the Manse.
Visit other Historic New England properties nearby. Package discounts available.
- Codman Estate, Lincoln – Overlooking a prospect of farm and pleasure grounds, this country seat, also known as “the Grange,” was a powerful force in the lives of five generations of the Codman family. The grounds feature a hidden turn-of-the-century Italian garden with perennial beds, statuary, and a reflecting pool filled with water lilies, as well as a 1930s English cottage garden.
- Lyman Estate and Greenhouses, Waltham – The Lyman Estate, also known as “the Vale,” is one of the finest examples in the United States of a country estate following the principles of eighteenth-century English naturalistic design. The Lyman Estate was the warm-weather retreat for four generations of the Lyman family. In 1793, shipping merchant Theodore Lyman commissioned famed architect Samuel McIntire to design and build a Federal-style house. The family enlarged the house in 1882 in the Victorian style and then remodeled it in the Colonial Revival style in 1917. The thirty-seven acre property includes beautifully preserved gardens and historic greenhouses. The Lyman Estate Greenhouses are among the oldest surviving greenhouses in the United States. The complex of four greenhouses consists of an 1804 grape house, 1820 camellia house, 1840 orchid house, and a 1930 sales greenhouse where visitors can purchase plants to take home.

Amenities:

Museum shop offering an assortment of books and souvenirs
On-site parking is available for cars. Buses can drop off and pick up at Gropius House and park at nearby Codman Estate.

Please Remember: