Situated along the 1846 alignment of the Santa Fe Trail, the magnificent 19 acre estate of renowned Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham is a sight to behold. This 22 room Victorian home has been lovingly restored to the period when Bingham was widely recognized for his realist paintings of the Missouri river men and local political events. In fact, his "Fur Traders Descending the Missouri" hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The home was purchased by the Waggoner family, co-owners of the Waggoner Gates Milling Co., in 1879 and extensively remodeled in the 1890s.

The home at 313 West Pacific is available for tours from April 1 to Oct. 31 from 10 am to 4pm Monday through Saturday; 1 to 4pm Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults; $4.50 for seniors; $2 for children 6 to 16; under 6 is free. For more information call 816-461-3491.

(A $12 ticket admits adults to the Vaile Mansion, 1859 Jail & Marshal's Home and the Bingham-Waggoner Estate.)

While under construction in 1881, the Kansas City newspaper described it as "the most princely house and most comfortable home in the entire West." They were applauding Harvey M. Vaile's 30-room mansion. Vaile, who made his fortune as operator of the Star Mail Route, which carried mail to Santa Fe, New Mexico, had only three years to enjoy the home he called "Maison d'Or" or the mansion of gold.

After Vaile's death in 1894, this grand home's modern amenities (flushing toilets, a built-in 6,000 gallon water tank and a 48,000 gallon wine cellar) were used by a women's college, an inn, a private asylum and sanitarium, a mineral water company and a nursing home.

Today the Vaile Mansion stands as one of the finest examples of "Second Empire" Victorian architecture in the country. Tours are offered at 1500 N. Liberty
from April I to Oct. 31 from 1 am to 4pm Monday through Saturday; 10 am to 4 pm Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults; $4.50 for seniors; $2 for children 6 to 16; under 6 is free. Call 816-325-7430.

(A $12 ticket admits adults to the Vaile Mansion, 1859 Jail & Marshal's Home and the Bingham-Waggoner Estate.)