For a welcoming center, this will have to be the first time we've seen anything so big and so neat, and so welcoming to visitors! The photo on their website didn't matched the photos we took, probably, we came in from the back, where they have a pathway garden 'memorial', a white wrought iron bench, and a gazebo-like section for gossiping! Want more to see what else is inside? Browse through my photos! Tells more than words. read more

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Not your average rest stop. Coming from the south you take an exit and an overpass to get to share the rest stop with southern bound traffic just outside of Paducah Kentucky. It's a stop that was oddly different not typical in many ways. it's currently under a facelift still open with the front area blocked off but they are a historical site so its a beautiful blend of early colonial architecture along with accessible. A step back in history a nice refreshing stop. As if you're going to a mansion/ museum and an official one of a kind historic building combined with all kinds of information booths for the areas in Kentucky. 21/2025 read more

We stopped by unfortunately the business was closed. It looks pretty amazing! We will try you come back when it is open to tour the building. It is historic and looks like a museum. read more

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Beautiful historic home, Welcome Center, Rest Area. Very clean facilities and informative place to walk your pet, have a rest or grab a snack. read more

Whitehaven Welcome Center - Historic home and Welcome Center - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Paducah, Kentucky

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This looks likes an old southern plantation house. It has a lovely garden, gazebo with wooden benches, a ton of tourist/informational brochures and large bathrooms. It even has a guest book to sign! read more

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I've been in a few rest areas across this great country but I've never been inside one that is an actual mansion. Yes, Whitehaven is the only historic house in the United States that is also used as a rest area and has been so since 1983. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Located on I-24 not far from the border with Illinois, it is a proper rest area with parking for cars and restrooms and an opportunity to view the interior. Enjoy the exhibit on Alben Barkley who served as US Vice President from 1949 to 1953. [Review 16323 overall - 136 in Kentucky - 1830 of 2021.] read more

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This welcome center...I don't know if I would ever be able to find it again as I was traveling west from Nashville to Branson. Whitehaven is a historic mansion. It was a Sunday morning. The bathrooms were open, but, there was no staff. It would've been nice to have staff present to find out more about the history of Whitehaven. The mansion was beautiful. The bathroom was clean. It was better than stopping at Kohl's for a road trip pit stop. read more

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This is my favorite rest stop on my yearly trek from Florida to Wisconsin. It's a beautiful building in a beautiful setting. Just a good feeling being there. I love Kentucky. read more

CLEAN - Sparkling clean restrooms, even at 2:30 in the morning. They even disinfect the toilet seats! Fresh cut flowers in the women's restroom! What a beautiful touch to the already aesthetically pleasing floral grounds surrounding this former mansion. One of the other reviews goes into the history of this mansion of the 1890's and is absolutely worth the read. Fascinating! Well kept facility and history. There are vending machines inside as well. Open 24/7. Well lit parking lot, felt very safe What a beautiful way to welcome us to a rest from our travels! read more

This is a neat place a few miles inside KY on the IL/KY border. I used to come here as a kid and have good memories here and stopped by to eat lunch in my car and checked out the inside while I was here. There's some cool history here and it's cool that they're keeping it up. As of Nov 2022, they are doing some remodeling on the structure, so that may get in the way of certain things for a bit. read more

Whitehaven Welcome Center - Sidewalk of bricks from one of the parking lots into one of the entrances. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Paducah, Kentucky

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A good place to come and just chill for a few minutes between errands. There are picnic tables outside that are/can be in the shade that are a good place to eat a picnic or read a book. I used to come here to work on homework when I was in elementary school. read more

You've never been to a rest area/welcome center like this one! Even Iowa, with its magnificent rest areas, hasn't got one like Whitehaven! The Anderson Mansion, as it was known when it was built, was constructed in the 1860s and remained in the family until 1903. It was sold to a family that remodeled the mansion significantly and named it Whitehaven. It was sold again to the mayor of Paducah and successful merchant, James P. Smith in 1908. He renamed it Bide-A-Wee and it remained in the Smith family until 1968. Abandoned and unloved, the house was feared to be in the way of Interstate 24, but remained in place. Close to demolition because of vandalism and disrepair, the house was saved by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The property was extensively restored and remodeled to serve as the Kentucky Welcome Center and Rest Area. The majestic house is the pride of Paducah and a welcome spot (pun intended) for travelers. On the property is a pair of Kentucky Coffeetrees. The name is derived from the beans that were used to make coffee when the real article was not available. The trees are male and female and devoid of foliage for most of the year. If you're on I-24 in McCracken County, Kentucky, this is a wonderful place to stop and stretch. You'll enjoy the beauty of this stately, Civil War Era mansion along with its modern amenities. It's a great stop! read more

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So after a few hours of driving on I-24, I made a visit to what I thought was your typical restroom/vending machines rest area. Wow was I in for a surprise. This is a rest area, yes but it's far from your typical rest area. The Welcome Center is inside this historic house. The restrooms were clean and there is a visitor's information center to read up on brochures. Great stop if you go down I-24. read more

Whitehaven Welcome Center - Entrance to Whitehaven Welcome Center. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Paducah, Kentucky

Stopped here to use the restroom at 7:00 p.m. Lobby states it's open 24 hours but was closed. This should not be listed as a rest stop with restrooms if it has limited hours. Horribly frustrating when you're traveling for long hours and need somewhere to stop. read more

If you enjoy labyrinthine excursions from Westbound I-24, this is your stop. I have it on good authority that this is a historic home that acts as a rest stop, but it is also home of the worlds most bizarre exit method, as well as the strongest hand driers in history. When the XLerator Electric Hand Dryer says "Feel the Power" it is not joking. You can literally feel the power as you stand at the urinal 10 or 12 feet away. Fear the power might be more appropriate! As for the exiting, you have to exit, exit again, loop around, and then exit to the Welcome Center. Not very welcoming from the Westbound lane! We did not have the "Pleasure" of touring the house, but the woman on staff was kind enough to inform us of a bridge closure and suggest an alternate route to our destination. As rest stops go, not too bad. read more

Whitehaven Welcome Center - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Paducah, Kentucky

Many times we have stopped in here! Perfect stopping point for us as we realize it is always clean! Lots of parking room, grounds are kept so nice and lots of information for tourist. The old home is quite stately and kept up very nice! Sure is one of a kind rest stop! Thank you!! read more

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Would have paid for our family to see the "Free tours every half hour, 1-4 PM when available" Unfortunately, we had to peek into the windows to see this gem as it was one of those "unavailable" times. However I would stop to use the bathroom here again (as this is a gorgeous rest stop) if nature called but it was disappointing to not be able to see inside the house. The visitor center closes at 4 so we missed it on our way into the state too. read more

Whitehaven Welcome Center - The prettiest rest stop ever- We got to peek into the windows of this historic beauty - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Paducah, Kentucky

Pretty mansion and grounds to walk around and take in the charm of it all. Clean rest rooms. Nice place to stretch your legs and walk a little. read more

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I'm traveling north on 24 and I had to pee really bad and finally see a sign for a rest stop. Well, when you get off, it's actually a ramp into downtown Paducah and you have to wait for a light to turn green so you can go straight and then wait at the next light so you can turn left which takes you on a bridge crossing the interstate and then another left at the light and finally you are at the rest area. This was bullshit and should not have been an option for those traveling north on the interstate! Will not stop here again! read more

Fanciest and cleanest rest stop I have ever been to. Beautiful building with lots of parking. On a hot and humid August day, the air conditioning inside was wonderful. A lovely way to be welcomed to Paducah, Kentucky! Who would have thought a rest stop could be a highlight of my 2017 Solar Eclipse road trip? Thanks Whitehaven Welcome Center! read more

Beautiful rest area within an old mansion. Right off the interstate, easily accessible, and very clean! read more

Whitehaven Welcome Center - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Paducah, Kentucky

This is a quaint stop that has everything that the visitor needs. The folks that staff the center are very helpful and gracious. It was nice to chat with them. look over the materials they provided and feel the hospitality! read more

This is where you are directed to go as the Rest Area off the freeway. If this is an actual Rest Area, the bathrooms need to be open! We stopped at 5pm on a Friday evening. There were NO signs saying it was closed. Very frustrating!! read more

Super clean rest stop! There's barely anyone here. Place can look very scary at night. No tours are available most of the time. I guess it's due to funding. But I would recommend stopping by here for a clean rest stop. No one wants a yucky rest stop. read more

Very nice place and friendly people. The tour was informative and interesting. They even gave our son a goodie bag.

This is the cleanest rest stop I have ever been to! I normally only review restaurants but this rest stop was so impressive I had to leave a 5 star rating. I have a phobia of public restrooms (the struggle is real) and don't make stops unless it's an emergency. My husband chose this rest stop when we were passing through the area. I held my breath as I always do when walking into public bathrooms but there was absolutely no need because I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and well maintained the bathroom was. It looked more like a hotel bathroom than a public restroom (even the toilet paper was hotel quality!). This rest area is attached to an area landmark and I'm guessing that's why it's so well maintained but it's still very impressive. First time in Kentucky and this was definitely the highlight! read more

This Welcome Center was a brilliant idea: combine a beautiful, restored, historic home with an Interstate rest stop and Kentucky welcome center. Unfortunately, when I visited on a Tuesday afternoon in June the house portion was closed. You could use the bathrooms (which were very clean), pick up some brochures, and walk around outside, maybe sit on a bench. But you could not view any rooms of the house. The sign outside said that tours were offered every day from 1-4, but inside a handwritten sign indicated that tours were now only offered on Thursdays from 2-4. (pout) I suppose state budget cuts are to blame... It is a real shame. I would have paid a couple dollars to tour the house, rather than just look at the furniture through a window. read more

SO nice! What a wonderful, FREE historical nugget right here in Paducah. I highly recommend it....

One of the nicest rest stops along Interstate 24 or any Interstate. This old house was about to be torn down when I was a kid living in Paducah. We stopped by the other day and the transformation is outstanding. This is truly souther. There are many brochures available for the state and the rest rooms were spotless the day we were there. About the brochures---seems like just about every little community has a brochure and is adverting there is a lot to see and do in the community. NOT TRUE---some of them are way over exaggerated. Checked into the cost of those brochures and many are being paid for by an extra tax imposed---on you guessed it---us travelers and tourist. One little town taxes eat in meals an extra 3% on top of the atet tax. The reason is to pay for their tourist promotions---however I noticed the manager or director takes a hefty salary first. Frankly I don't think this is avery good way to try to get me to come visit your town. No such tax in Paducah, at least fro now. read more