Winston-Salem is about an hour and ten minutes north of Hickory, and the Reynolda House is right off the interstate when you get there. The price of admission is $14 each, but if you are members of the Hickory Museum of Art, and have your membership card with you, admission is free.
We spent about four hours touring the house on Thursday, April 21 of this year. We watched a short video about the history of the house and then explored the place under the guidance of an hand controlled audio tour guide. Places of interest inside the large house are marked with a number on the wall. You press that same number on your audio device and listen to a description and explanation of that area.
We enjoyed the Aeolian Organ and marveled at its 2,500 small pipes. Unfortunately, photography is not permitted inside the house. There was a lot of art work throughout the house and adjoining areas including an art studio with original art work from Norman Rockwell and Georgia O’Keeffe. There were many more artists work present in clouding Morris Hirschfield and Grandma Moses. Oddly, photography IS permitted in the art museum.
Lots of places to eat. Snacks, entrees, gelato and ice cream, wine and beer including local craft brews. We ate at the Village Tavern and enjoyed our meal. We
asked to share both the meal and the small salad. The salads were delicious, and we not only shared the meal, and enjoyed it very much, but we had MOST of it still left over.
The Reynolda House was not only fun and good food but also educational. We were amazed to find out that people used Sleeping Porches even in cold weather! Wow! Why? Well, you can go there and find out why. Also why this enormous house was – and still is – called a “bungalow”.
Most of the songs were lively and were clearly designed to blow the last vestiges of winter and its long, cold, pollen-filled spring mess out of the city.
