Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Winona (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka, and Pickwick Mill. Also, be sure to include Polish Cultural Institute in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Winona (Minnesota).
Table of Contents
Minnesota Marine Art Museum
Museum in Winona, Minnesota. The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is an art museum in Winona, Minnesota, United States, specializing in marine art. The MMAM features six galleries of world-class art and artifacts including impressionism and Hudson River School paintings, marine art, folk art sculptures and traveling exhibits. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, the museum is located in a unique, turn-of-the-century-style building and landscaped with over 60,000 native plants.[1]
Address: 800 Riverview Dr, 55987-2272 Winona
Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka
The Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona in Winona, Minnesota, United States, and a prominent fixture on the city's skyline. Within the diocese it is better known as Saint Stan's. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as Church of St. Stanislaus–Catholic and was designated as a Minor Basilica of the Roman Catholic Church on November 10, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.[2]
Address: 625 E E 4th St, 55987 Winona
Pickwick Mill
Gristmill. Pickwick Mill is a historic gristmill in the unincorporated community of Pickwick, Minnesota, United States, near the city of Winona. It was constructed in the mid-1850s and is now operated as a milling museum. Pickwick Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 for having state-level significance in the themes of agriculture, architecture, and industry. It was nominated for being one of southeast Minnesota's oldest surviving water-powered mills, serving as a key local industry in its day and a Winona County landmark to the present.[3]
Address: 24813 County Rd 7, 55987 Winona
Polish Cultural Institute
Museum in Winona, Minnesota. The Polish Cultural Institute and Museum is located at 102 Liberty Street in Winona, Minnesota, United States. Known locally as the Polish Museum, it is housed in a lumber yard office built by the Laird-Norton Lumber Company in 1890.[4]
Address: 102 Liberty St, 55987-3705 Winona
Winona City Hall
County government office in Winona, Minnesota. Winona City Hall is the seat of municipal government for Winona, Minnesota, United States. It was built with federal funding from the Public Works Administration in 1939.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and politics/government. It was nominated as a local example of the massive federal relief efforts of the New Deal and for its exceptional Classical Moderne architecture.
The building was designed by the local firm of Boyum, Schubert and Sorensen in 1938. It is partially faced in local travertine stone. Winona City Hall originally included a police station with police garage and jail cells, which were removed when the interior of the building was remodeled in the early 1980s.[5]
Address: 207 Lafayette Street, Winona
Sugar Loaf
Sugar Loaf is a bluff on the Mississippi River topped by a rock pinnacle, overlooking the city of Winona, Minnesota, United States. The name "Sugar Loaf" is sometimes taken to mean just the rock pinnacle, which was created by quarrying in the 19th century. The bluff stands above the junction of U.S. Route 61 and State Highway 43. It towers 500 feet over Lake Winona, and the pinnacle rises more than 85 feet above the remainder of the bluff.
Sugar Loaf was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 for having local significance in the theme of entertainment/recreation. It was nominated for being one of Minnesota's most famous landmarks to early travelers and tourists; a popular subject for stereopticon images, travel literature, and folklore.[6]
Address: Glen Ln., 55987 Winona
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
Catholic church in Winona, Minnesota. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester. The cathedral is located in Winona, Minnesota, United States, on Minnesota State Highway 43 near downtown.[7]
Address: 360 Main St, 55987 Winona
Winona Public Library
Public library in Winona, Minnesota. The Winona Public Library is the public library serving Winona, Minnesota, United States. It is a member of Southeastern Libraries Cooperating, a Minnesota library region. Housed in an 1899 Neoclassical building, the Winona Public Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 for having local significance in architecture and education. It is Minnesota's oldest library to continuously operate in a purpose-built facility.[8]
Address: 151 W 5th St, 55987 Winona
Merchants Bank
Building. Merchants National Bank is a bank building in Winona, Minnesota, United States, designed in the Prairie School architectural style. It was built in 1912 and features elaborate terracotta and stained-glass ornamentation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 for having state-level significance in the themes of architecture and commerce. It was nominated for being the "largest and probably best example" of the 18 Midwestern banks designed by Purcell, Feick & Elmslie, a significant influence on early-20th-century American architecture. It is also a contributing property to the Winona Commercial Historic District.[9]
Address: 102 E 3rd St, 55987-3416 Winona
Huff–Lamberton House
The Huff–Lamberton House is a historic house in Winona, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1857, and in 1873 it was given a Moorish Revival porch. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 for its state-level significance in the theme of architecture. It was nominated for being one of Minnesota's oldest and best preserved Italian Villa style houses.[10]
Main Channel Bridge
Cantilever bridge in Winona, Minnesota. Main Channel Bridge consists of a pair of bridges, the original cantilever bridge, and a concrete box girder bridge completed in 2016, that span the main channel of the Mississippi River in the United States between Winona, Minnesota, and Latsch Island. Another bridge, the North Channel Bridge, connects the island to rural Buffalo County, Wisconsin. The bridge carries Minnesota State Highway 43, which continues as Wisconsin Highway 54 at the Minnesota/Wisconsin state line on the nearby North Channel Bridge; in Winona, it connects to Winona Street.
Construction on the original cantilever bridge was started just before the U.S. entered World War II, and the construction was hastened to finish in November 1942, despite labor shortages, difficulty obtaining materials, and high water. It was built in 1941–1942 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).
On May 17, 2008, the United States Postal Service announced that the bridge would be on the Minnesota sesquicentennial commemorative stamp.
Following an inspection of the bridge's gusset plates, the Minnesota Department of Transportation closed the bridge on June 3, 2008, with over 60-mile-long (97 km) detours as an alternative. The bridge reopened on June 14, 2008.
After considering a number of alternatives, including rehabilitation of only the original bridge, or construction of a new bridge and demolition of the original bridge, on August 23, 2012, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced approval for plans to build a new two-lane concrete box girder bridge, prior to rehabilitating the original bridge. Construction of the new bridge began immediately upstream of the cantilever bridge in July 2014, and opened for traffic in August 2016. Following the opening of the new bridge, the original cantilever bridge closed for rehabilitation. The rehabilitated cantilever bridge opened July 1, 2019, allowing 2 lanes in each direction.[11]
Winona County Courthouse
Building in Winona, Minnesota. The Winona County Courthouse is the seat of government for Winona County in Winona, Minnesota, United States. The 1889 Richardsonian Romanesque building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 for having local significance in the themes of architecture, art, and politics/government. It was nominated for being an artistic manifestation of Winona's prosperous riverboat and logging era. It was the first courthouse in Minnesota listed on the National Register.[12]
Winona Masonic Temple
Building in Winona, Minnesota. The Winona Masonic Temple is a historic Masonic Temple in Winona, Minnesota, United States, completed in 1909. Many local civic and business leaders were members of the lodge. Containing a large ballroom and other meeting space, the building was an important venue in Winona for both Masonic activities and general public events. The Winona Masonic Temple was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 for having state-level significance in the themes of art and social history. It was nominated as the headquarters of a fraternal organization important to Winona's civic and social development, and for containing Minnesota's largest collection of Masonic theatre backdrops and stage equipment.[13]
North Channel Bridge
Girder bridge in Winona County. The North Channel Bridge crosses the north channel of the Mississippi River between Latsch Island and Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
The bridge has a street setup, with one lane in either direction. It carries Minnesota State Highway 43 and WI 54 in either direction. Immediately to the southwest is the Main Channel Bridge.[14]
Krueger Library
University library in Winona, Minnesota. Darrell W. Krueger Library, commonly known as Krueger Library, is the center of research, discovery, and creative output at Winona State University. The library serves more than 10,000 students, faculty, and staff in the WSU community, residents in the city of Winona, Minnesota, and the greater Southeastern Minnesota region. It is a United States Federal depository library.[15]
Address: Winona, 175 W Mark St. Winona, MN 55987