House on the Rock

 This is an especially interesting place to visit.

There is a rock outcropping near Spring Green, Wisconsin that caught the attention of Alex Jordan when he was a young man in 1953. This rock was 75 feet above the forest floor and about 200 feet x 65 feet in size. Alex had a highly creative  spirit and often pitched a tent on the rock outcropping and enjoyed the experience.

That eventually led to his wanting something more permanent and the construction of a home built upon this rock. The home was incorporated within the contours of the rock and became a free flowing series of rooms connecting each other.

People heard of this house and would come and ask for a tour. To drive them away Alex asked them to provide money for a tour thinking this would eliminate their desire. Instead they happily paid and that led to a steady stream of income to be used to expand the house, build other dwellings and fund his becoming a collector of collections.

The tours offered in current times include one that covers just the House on the Rock and Gate House, another which includes collections and a giant carrousel and a third tour that includes a giant whale and various music machines. We had just enough time to see the House on the Rock and the Gate House. 

It is hard to convey just what this house is like in images. It is a most interesting place to visit and I can image the fun times had here when lots of folks would gather for a party.

This is the main entry and ticket office for the self guided tour. Covered walkways lead from here to the various attractions.

These giant pots are found all over the property

This is the inside of the ticket office and where you gather for your self guided tour, The gift shop here sells books detailing the history of the house as well as a DVD video tour.

I liked this example of a deck light

Walkways lead to the various buildings you can tour 

Along the way you will pass examples of the various things Mr. Jordan collected

This leads to the Gate House

A covered and somewhat steep walkway leads to the House on The Rock

It is a nice walk thru the trees

Alex liked having a large overhang of roof, but the high winds made that unworkable so the rafter tails were left long to give the same effect. Tree growth in the area of the house now makes this difficult to see.

Stained glass from his massive collection is found throughout

The effect of spatial compression is used at the entrance to the House on the Rock

The living room includes an automated grand piano that is operated by inserting a token. The music was great to hear and fun to watch the piano play.

Multiple levels of bookshelves

The house includes this "Infinity Room" projecting into space

This is the view from within the house looking out towards 'Infinity'

It was a windy day when we were there and there is a slight' 'springiness' to the structure

There is a viewing opening looking down

View looking towards the house

Back to the house

I like the use of warm and cool lighting for effect

There are more collections of sculptures on display as you leave

A large military mortar is part of the collection and seen as you leave.

Quite the place to visit. It could take days to see everything in detail.