American Gothic House Center - Historical place museum in Eldon - 300 American Gothic St, USA

Ok here comes the confession: I was looking for a spooky black goth house not realizing this is one of the most if not #1 paintings that has a huge cult parody following. Also very famous architecture. Once I figured it all out I was amazed and in awe that I was standing in front of the house where the famous picture was taken. Lots of history and photo opps. You can dress up for a fee and have your pic taken in front of the famous house, there are nature trails as well. There is a gift shop and a small area with more photos and history. The small area in the back of the gift shop is blocked by velvet ropes and there is a fee to get back there. *That's also where the *bathrooms are located and you have to pay the fee to use the restroom.* That was the only down side especially after our long drive. It's very beautiful there and lots of room to just roam around, get the kids and pets out of the car and have a really nice walk.

While wandering the backroads amongst the fall colors, we journeyed to quaint Eldon, Iowa. In addition to the house itself, the landscaping and history museum made this trip very enjoyable. There's a good place to eat and have your favorite beverage nearby, too.

Very nice travel experience in South Central Iowa Town of Eldon. Nice museum witn nice displays and plenty of information on the house, painting and Grant Wood, the artist. The house is open to see, but the real attraction is the historic home. With your paid admission, you can get costuming and pitchfork to reprise the American Gothic painting.

We were in the area from out of town, so we decided to stop by... it was around 10 minutes to 1, and apparently they had an event in the morning so a woman shouted out the door to us they were closed until 1. We waited, mainly because we wanted to borrow a pitchfork for a picture (they also have costumes available to borrow at no cost), to see the museum. At 1, my mother, who is a senior citizen, asked to use the restroom... after being grilled that she would be going through the FREE museum, she was pointed in the right direction. We walked through the museum (it took about 5 minutes total... it's one room and very small) and then grabbed a pitchfork for some pictures outside in front of the house. They have a selfie station to use the timer on your phone to snap a shot or two. Returned our pitchfork and we were off. Super quick trip. I believe the house is available to tour during the summer (bottom floor, only), but it's just one of those neat roadside attractions... they also have a gift shop with the museum.

Ok for a quick roadside attraction. A few informative signs posted outdoors by the house. I was miffed that they wouldn't let us use the restroom unless we paid $5 per person museum admission fee (but of course it's free to look around in the gift shop).

Great place to visit! Very friendly hosts and beautiful scenery. A must see!

It was nice to see in person but not worth the drive as a specific destination. The house was surprisingly smaller than expected. Also, hard to get a good picture of the house without also capturing a neighboring mobile home in the background. Nice background information on both Grant Wood as well as the house itself.

We were at the American Gothic prior to the building opening but the signage outside had so much information. A great stop to educate about Iowa Art! Will stop again when the education center is open.