Entry No. 33 — the Wichita file — filed under: artist studio
Red Barn Studio Museum (Lester Raymer)
“less like visiting a gallery and more like stepping inside someone's mind”
Lester Raymer (1907–1991) spent decades transforming two connected barns into a dense, obsessive handmade world — furniture, religious icons, metalwork, toys, and paintings all crafted from salvaged materials — and the studio has been preserved exactly as he left it since opening as a museum in 1997. Walking through it feels less like visiting a gallery and more like stepping inside someone's mind.
The move: Take a free guided tour through the cluttered, luminous studio during afternoon hours (Tue–Fri 10–5, Sat–Sun 1–5), lingering over the 53 hand-carved Christmas toys Raymer made for his wife over 30 years; then grab coffee or a Swedish pastry in Lindsborg's walkable Main Street district a few steps away.
📍 Before you go You'll find the studio at the south end of Lindsborg's Main Street, set back from the road among trees rather than sitting right on the sidewalk — look past the storefronts toward the rear of the property for the two connected barns Raymer built himself. Tours are docent-led and run a tidy half hour, with a resident artist sometimes on hand; visits by appointment are also an option, so it's worth calling ahead if your timing is awkward. Admission is donation-based. Pair it with Lindsborg's walkable "Little Sweden" downtown, where Swedish bakeries, shops, and cafes sit a short stroll away. From Wichita it's roughly a 75-minute drive north — an easy day trip.
- 📍 Lindsborg
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 212 S Main St, Lindsborg, KS 67456
Hours: Mined 2026-06-07 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · visitlindsborg.com · Yelp
last checked: 2026-06-07