Whaley House Museum
Photo: Photo by Joe Mabel — CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Built in 1857, the Whaley House Museum is a historic house in San Diego’s Old Town, renowned for its Greek Revival architecture and paranormal legends.
Planning your visit
Thomas Whaley built this house in 1857 on the site of San Diego's public gallows, where a man named Yankee Jim Robinson had been hanged four years earlier — Whaley had watched the execution and bought the land anyway.
The house served as a residence, a granary, a courtroom, a general store and the county's first commercial theatre, which makes it a genuinely important document of early California statehood, and the Greek Revival brick construction was unusual for a town of adobe.
It is also routinely described as the most haunted house in America, a claim that dates to a 1960s television programme and that the museum has since built a substantial part of its business on.
The Whaley family's own history was tragic enough without embellishment.
Old Town State Historic Park surrounds it. Allow forty-five minutes. Current availability is listed below.
Before you book
Where is Whaley House Museum?
Whaley House Museum is in San Diego, United States. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Whaley House Museum?
Allow forty-five minutes. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Is Whaley House Museum free to enter?
Yes, general admission to Whaley House Museum is free. Guided tours and special exhibitions may still be charged separately.
Do I need to book Whaley House Museum in advance?
Guided tours run to a fixed schedule and small group sizes, so they are usually booked ahead.
