Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion

I go to the Murder Mystery theater, Dickens Christmas (including Santa this year!), and Old Fashioned Picnic every year, plus enjoy a walk through the beautiful gardens any chance I get. The Mansion is truly an asset to the neighborhood (and region), and I highly recommend a visit. Great family fun, a step back in time at Philadelphia’s only authentically (and beautifully) restored Victorian house museum!

I have been to the mansion for several of their productions and have loved each one. Watching a play from the Sherlock Holmes series in the parlor of a historic Victorian mansion is an absolutely wonderful and unique experience. The Murder Mystery they put on each Halloween is an absolute blast for all ages. I’m not sure why there are negative reviews on here, but I have been treated with nothing but courtesy and respect from all of the mansion’s staff – executive director included! All-​in-​all, I highly recommend visiting the mansion for a tour and (at least) one of their productions. It’s an experience you can’t find anywhere else in Philly!

I go to the Murder Mystery every fall with of group of my friends and have a blast. The actors are great and fun to interact with and the staff very friendly and helpful. We always have at least one more person then is allowed per group but they are always very accommodating to us and let us go through as a group. The house is beautiful, well kept and historically accurate. I would highly recommend visiting the mansion.

We enjoyed our tour this past weekend, the guide was knowledgable and friendly. The décor and furniture seemed accurate, and I liked how the first and second floors were decorated to represent different periods. The only sour note was when the «Executive Director» rushed into the foyer after the tour began to scold the girl conducting the tour as to whether the front door was locked and if she had warned us not to touch anything. It was completely off-​putting and I felt embarrassed for our tour guide.

I saw a very reasonably priced tour for 4 people on Groupon and purchased it for myself and friends.
While certainly a mansion, the home was much smaller than I was expecting. Our tour included 10 rooms: parlor, dining area, kitchen, library, mother’s day room, mother’s bed room, husband’s bedroom, husband’s bathroom, children’s room, and billiards room. I’ve toured other family homes including the Ford Family estate in Grosse Pointe, MI (60 rooms) so I think I had different expectations. That’s my own fault though for not researching more about the home. Note: you are unable to take photos inside the house, although this seems to be common practice when touring family homes.
The house itself was an interesting piece of history and our tour guide was incredibly informed. Great quality, 5 stars.
The reason the overall score is so low is because of my experience with the Executive Director. Very poor, 0 stars. I second Celic’s comments of interacting with someone rude. My friends and I were waiting for her to process my Groupon payment, so I asked a couple of questions about the family while we waited at the bottom of the stairs. When Joan was in the middle of explaining, the director (who was in another room) snapped at me and said, «If you’d actually give Joan a chance to explain, she’ll get to what you’re wondering about. So hold your questions until the end.»
It is like she mistook asking a question as an insult to the quality of the tour instead of interest and excitement in what Joan was talking about.
In case you’re reading this– a more gracious way to handle this would be:
1) Explaining before the tour begins to hold questions until the end.
2) A reminder to come from THE TOUR GUIDE using language such as «That’s a great question. And we’re going to talk about that more when we enter the children’s room. So let me know if you have any more unanswered questions about the family at that time.»
They have some interesting events that happen throughout the year — and I’m contemplating attending — but frankly the thought of having a possible negative interaction (again) with the director might be enough to keep me from spending more money here.

I’m very glad I finally made it into the Maxwell Mansion, but I hate to say I’m a little underwhelmed. I would recommend a pass though, if you’re interested, especially for their events. But what I found most interesting about the mansion is how much it’s like the other houses on the street, so I left wondering who built those!
I visited on what I thought was an «Upstairs/​Downstairs» tour, but it was about Victorian women. I learned a lot, though, from the tour guides as well as the fellow tour participants. Did you know Louisa May Alcott was from Germantown?
The house itself was small, but it’s well-​kept in what looks like historically accurate decorations. (I’m no expert — but it’s not modern!) My favorite part was the children’s room, home to a meticulously detailed doll house, a mini piano, and other toys.
They say Philly is a city of neighborhoods, and I’m happy to see people coming to Germantown and enjoying Maxwell Mansion.

I’ve been to the Maxwell Mansion several times and I’ve enjoyed my visit every time. Their events are always fun, including the Annual Mystery Mansion (you tour the mansion and get clues as you go to help you solve the mystery), the Dickens Christmas event, and workshops that represent crafts from the Victorian time period.
Philadelphia is a wonderful city for history, and the Mansion represents a different slice of life and different time from some of the better known, center city landmarks. A worthwhile visit and trek to a lesser-​known, but equally interesting part of Philadelphia.
Ask about all of the kitchen tools — fascinating for adults and kids :-)
I give the mansion overall 4 stars, but add the events into the mix and it’s definitely a 5 star visit.