A Free Museum Disguised as a Showroom
Free
Book direct via the vendor website
Part showroom, part factory museum, part art gallery, free to walk in, and the best rainy-day option in Kohler.
The Kohler Design Center at 101 Upper Road covers more than a plumbing catalogue. The ground floor holds functioning product displays where you can operate fixtures and compare finishes. Upper levels run the Arts/Industry program exhibition, which places ceramics and sculptures by resident artists working in the Kohler factory alongside industrial artifacts. The juxtaposition is intentional and surprisingly effective. A small theatre screens a short film on the company's 150-year history. The factory tour is the highlight if you plan ahead. Led by retired Kohler employees, the free guided tour departs at 8:15 a.m. and walks through active manufacturing facilities producing cast iron and vitreous china. It's one of the few remaining factory tours in the United States where you can watch heavy industrial production firsthand, and the depth retired employees bring to the explanation is the kind of authenticity no video can replicate.
One to two hours for the Design Center; the factory tour adds time and requires advance registration by calling 920-457-3699. Free admission. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Walking distance from The American Club and the Inn on Woodlake.