5978. Explore the Washington House in Two Rivers

When planning our Two Rivers Adventure, I knew I wanted ice cream. I had a sundae at the Washington House which is the home of the ice cream sundae but I never really explored the house. I didn't realize it was a museum. I mentioned this to Stacy and gave her the option if she wanted to do the Washington House. Since it was close to the other places we visited, we opted to check it out.

The Washington House is located downtown Two Rivers. It is open seasonally 12-6 Thursday-Monday. There is street parking all around it. It is free to visit and donations are accepted.

The Washington House was a former inn and saloon. Back in 1881, the ice cream sundae was invented at Berners Ice Cream Parlor so there is a replica Berners' Ice Cream Parlor inside. There are two floors of exhibits.

You walk in to the old saloon with the long bar and are greeted by a handful of elderly volunteers. Some of the ladies were playing cards while an accordion player was entertaining everyone. It was kind of like stepping back in time. We were given a brief history of the place and left to explore on our own.

The downstairs rooms featured exhibits you would typically find a local history museum.. 

Military Artifacts

Houseware Artifacts

We had one of these growing up.

Local Sports History

Even some fossils

We headed upstairs and entered the ballroom where a rummage sale was taking place. The ballroom features several unique and rare murals. The stage was set up as a big band era band stand. 

                                                 

                                          

The rest of the rooms were the same was many other museums I have visited.

A bedroom

A Doctor's Office

A Dentist Office

A Barber Shop

There was even an entire room of musical instruments

Yup.. I've seen my share of history museums and they are all the same. Clark County is still my favorite. I will keep visiting local history museums because they are important to local areas and you never know what you are going to stumble upon. 

After exploring the museum, we headed to the ice cream parlor for some ice cream. Since we full from lunch, we opted just for ice cream. It is Cedar Crest ice cream which is made in nearby Manitowoc. It was a perfect end to a fun day.

I still would recommend the Washington House for ice cream and you might as well check out the museum while you are there. It is very well done and worth checking out. 

#3991. Have a sundae at the Washington House in Two Rivers

One of the things that I’ve wanted to do for years now is go to the Washington House in Two Rivers for an ice cream sundae. The Washington House is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae. Granted it Two Rivers is only about an hour away but that’s a bit far for ice cream. Usually the hubby is in Two Rivers for basketball so that doesn’t really work either. When I saw he was in Two Rivers for softball on Saturday, I was excited… until I realized I had to work. Luckily he was also at the same tournament all day on Sunday so I planned on walking to get my ice cream sundae.

The walk to the Washington House was about 1.5 miles from the tournament. 3 miles for ice cream…. It was a nice walk. If I had more time and planned my day better, I would have stopped at the Rogers Street Fishing Village Museum or explored the Lakefront some. However, all I planned on doing at this point in time was walk the 1.5 miles, eat my sundae, and walk back.

This was someone's lawn ornament

The Washington House is an old immigrant hotel in 1850s. The ice cream shop in the back is a replica of Ed Berners' Ice Cream Parlor, where he invented the ice cream sundae. When I walked into the Washington House, there were old ladies playing cards in the parlor. You could take a self-guided tour, which I may do another day. You could also dress up and they would take your picture behind the bar. I definitely need Stacy or Danielle for that. Dress up is no fun by yourself.

The original ice cream sundae comes in a souvenir plastic bowl. You get 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, a cherry, and nuts. It was very good. I thought since I was getting a take home bowl, I would have gotten a plastic spoon but I still had a real spoon to eat it with. After I was done, I could either have my original bowl washed out or just get a new one. Because there was a line, I opted for a new bowl. I didn’t need my exact bowl that I had my ice cream sundae in.

Besides ice cream sundaes, you could have one of 18 different Cedar Crest ice cream flavors or a root beer float. If you wanted water it was served in a glass. The ice cream parlor wasn’t very big but it was cozy. It reminded me of an old fashioned ice cream parlor.

I’m sure if we were done with softball before 8, we would have stopped again so the hubby could have had some ice cream. I will be back. It is cute and charming and definitely reasonable. My sundae was only $2.50. I just hope it won’t be another 35 years before I get back.