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Post by librarylady on May 21, 2021 20:38:27 GMT
A bizarre house filled with an astounding array of collections.
Authenticity of the collections Some of the apparent antiques in the House on the Rock are real, but many are not what they seem: depending on one's point of view one could call them fakes, replicas, or original and imaginative creations in the style of antiques. Moe's authorized biography suggests that the question of authenticity is not a problem, presenting it this way: While the Regina Sublima music box is a real antique, as are many other pieces and exhibits at the House, everyone knows that other pieces are re-creations designed and built on the House property. It's part of the fun—guessing what's real at the House and what is the magic of imagination and re-creation.[20] Much of the House's contents were built by Jordan and his associates. Balousek quotes Jordan associate Bob Searles as saying We were creating entertainment. We were not making a historically accurate representation. There was never any need to worry about historical accuracy. We were creating a fun place.[21] The "Phelps Car" in the Streets of Yesterday, for example, was made by Jordan associate Bob Searles from an old carriage and some motorcycle parts. Balousek quotes Searles as saying "We could fabricate any antiques we wanted to—that was the fun of it. It was just one guy's great big sandbox, where he kept building stuff." Balousek says that Jordan sometimes bought bonafide antiques, but "usually preferred a good copy that cost less," and quotes a supplier as saying "I suspect that Jordan would pay more for a good copy than he would for an original, because he could sit in a corner and laugh about the way he fooled everyone."[22] In 1978, a disgruntled employee complained to the state Justice Department of consumer fraud, saying that these claims were tall tales. The "Tiffany" lamps, for example, were made by the Illinois firm of Bauer and Coble. The name of the Tusk of Ranchipoor was actually a pun on the name of Richard Rahn, a Mazomanie antiques dealer, who had built many of the fakes: "Rahn is poor." Jordan was enjoined from making false claims, the brochure was rewritten, and misleading signs were removed from the exhibit. However, the exhibits retained their colorful names, allowing visitors to surmise what they wished.[23] The room-sized assemblages of what appear to be mechanical musical instruments are partly illusion. Some of the instruments actually play, but the strings and woodwinds in particular do not; their sound is actually produced by organ pipes, while the moving instruments fool visitors.[24] Today, the nature of the exhibits is disclosed, though perhaps not emphasized, by the management; for example, the current website notes, "All the armor featured in this elaborate collection was made for The House on the Rock".[25] This was not always the case. According to Balousek, before 1978 brochures advertised authentic Tiffany lamps, said the Gladiator Calliope dated from 1895, that the Franz Josef music machine had actually belonged to the Austrian emperor, that the Tusk of Ranchipoor was genuine ivory carved by an "unknown Punjab artisan," and so forth.
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
Jun 26, 2014 0:29:24 GMT
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on May 21, 2021 20:51:23 GMT
I've been there. It's actually in Wisconsin. I found it creepy and anxiety provoking.
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Post by dnkmmw on May 21, 2021 20:51:36 GMT
It's actually in Wisconsin. I grew up a few hours away and went twice with my parents. It really is bizarre. I have no interest in going back, but I might be interested in learning more about the accumulation of all the stuff.
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Post by librarylady on May 21, 2021 20:52:48 GMT
I corrected my post on location. (Why did I make that mistake?)
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Post by magellen on May 21, 2021 21:35:18 GMT
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Post by crimsoncat05 on May 21, 2021 21:40:32 GMT
oh, I LOVED going to that place as a kid, the few times we went. (It got a lot more expensive as I got older, lol) I agree that some of it was kind of creepy, but I loved the different musical automatons. I seem to recall that the Infinity Room creeped me out, too, because I don't like heights. But that area is just GORGEOUS.
(aside: I STILL want to see Taliesin, sometime, too... I lived in that area for 36 years and just never went. Now we live in the Phoenix area, and have we gone to Taliesin West? nope. lol.)
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Post by danalz on May 21, 2021 22:45:19 GMT
I live 45 minutes from there and have never gone. Most people who have been there say it's weird, creepy and dusty LOL
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
Jun 26, 2014 0:29:24 GMT
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on May 21, 2021 23:22:29 GMT
I live 45 minutes from there and have never gone. Most people who have been there say it's weird, creepy and dusty LOL And it smells funky.
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Post by crazy4scraps on May 22, 2021 0:33:16 GMT
I’ve been there a few times. It IS weird, dusty and kind of creepy, LOL. But also kind of cool if you like seeing collections of odd things even if they are fakes. The way the house itself has been built into the surroundings is pretty interesting too. It has probably been 30 years since we went last.
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Post by vspindler on May 23, 2021 18:29:54 GMT
I've been there. It's actually in Wisconsin. I found it creepy and anxiety provoking. I had recurring nightmares about getting lost in a loop between rooms with musical items, dolls, and the carousel after last visiting there as a child. I kind of want to go again now though. Kind of silly that I haven’t considering my proximity lol.
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Post by mrsp on May 23, 2021 20:17:47 GMT
I have found my people! The House on the Rock was so anxiety-inducing to both me and my husband. It doesn’t surprise me, as I am prone to that sort of thing (lol) it my husband is pretty hard to rattle. It was smelly and dusty and soooo weird.
We talked about it for weeks. And our friends who grew up going all had these pleasant memories of it. I can’t imagine.
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
Jun 26, 2014 0:29:24 GMT
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on May 23, 2021 20:25:09 GMT
I've been there. It's actually in Wisconsin. I found it creepy and anxiety provoking. I had recurring nightmares about getting lost in a loop between rooms with musical items, dolls, and the carousel after last visiting there as a child. I kind of want to go again now though. Kind of silly that I haven’t considering my proximity lol. When I was a young teen I got trapped in a funhouse. The kind of thing where you go through the house and there's hidden doors and stuff. I got trapped in a unlit room and couldn't find the secret door to get out. I had to claw open the one way door I had gone in through and retrace my steps to get out of the place. The thought of being trapped in the house on the rock is nightmare material for sure.
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Post by Zee on May 23, 2021 23:17:28 GMT
I love it. Yes it's creepy and weird and moisture makes some of the older carpet smell. It's so wild--my daughter loves it, my son hates it. We've been twice I think. Both times my husband had to escort my son out early, lol. The first time I think he was five and the second time, 11-12, and we were there by my daughter's request for her birthday.
The dollhouses are amazing. The street of yesteryear looks like the set of the 1980s movie with Jason Robard, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The music boxes are a calamity and then you get to the organs and it's just sensory overload. I still haven't seen everything in it. The original house itself is very cool. The walk out over the rocks feels like it's going to fall down any minute.
The velvet window seats built in are kind of scary and kind of wonderful.
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Post by SockMonkey on May 24, 2021 0:48:40 GMT
When I was a tween, our neighbors were older and had a granddaughter my age who would come visit every summer. She was the coolest and I loved hanging out with her! They took us to House on the Rock one summer and it was the fucking creepiest, weirdest place.
I am sure they thought we'd get a kick out of it, but it was dusty and musty and I couldn't wait to get the hell out and eat lunch. LOL
NOT MY JAM (or at least not my 12 year old jam).
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,365
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on May 24, 2021 1:37:40 GMT
Oh wow, I’ve never heard of this place but I’m intrigued and maybe a little scared lol.
I was actually going to propose to dh that we head up to that area for a weekend to check out Taliesin (I’ve been planning on making a post about that). Maybe we should (or shouldn’t) roll this in, too. Two drastically different experiences, it sounds like.
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Post by tc on May 24, 2021 2:18:42 GMT
I went once in the late 90s or early 2000s. With my then in-laws. They'd been a couple of times so it was more of a tour of watching me react to everything. Sensory overload definitely describes it. I don't remember much but do remember the carousel. I just remember I kept saying, "There's more?"
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Post by bbkeef on May 24, 2021 14:53:00 GMT
The outside grounds are beautiful. That being said, the inside is a dusty, musty fever dream. I never need to see it again. Lol. Taliesin is definitely on my list to see!
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Post by crimsoncat05 on May 24, 2021 15:34:55 GMT
haha-- I guess when I was twelve, I didn't care whether things were real antiques or reproductions / fakes? Sensory overload is a good way to put it, but I love crowded thrift stores and antique shops, so there you go. I thought the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum in Wisconsin Dells was kind of fun, too, even though those things are mostly fakes and made-up things as well.
(I do remember that the carousel of dolls did creep me out, but I don't like dolls...) And getting trapped in a funhouse sounds like my WORST nightmare!! THOSE kinds of things I do NOT like at all. I would NEVER go in one willingly, or one of those 'escape the room' places.
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