What you need to know:
Tours of the mansion, located at 375 Little Harbor Road, are usually held at 10 and 11 a.m. and at 12.45, 2 and 3 p.m. To confirm guided tours, call 436-6607. The Coolidge Center for the Arts is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. New Hampshire residents are admitted for free. Other admission charges range from $7 to $3. Pets are not allowed.
What you'll find:
Visitors can tour the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion, the former home of New Hampshire's first royal governor, Benning Wentworth. The rambling, 40-room mansion, which overlooks Little Harbor, is one of the most outstanding homes remaining from the colonial era. Its stateliness and impressive interior and furnishings reflect aristocratic life in Portsmouth in the 1700s. The mansion reflects five distinct periods of architecture. The skill of New Hampshire’s 18th century craftsmen is exhibited in the intricate hand-carved mantelpiece and the council chamber and the spy closet reveal details about daily life and government during the colonial period. Guests also can visit the Coolidge Visitor Center, located on the grounds. The gallery will be producing three summer shows in 2009 at the prestigious Coolidge Center for the Arts Gallery.
