From overlooked roadside attractions to unusual museums and obscure natural wonders, Local Hidden Gems will showcase some of the unique and unexpected treasures that make America extraordinary. We emphasize charm, surprise and delight.
Local hidden gem: House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin
The House on the Rock isn’t as famous as Wisconsin Dells, and more and more people are heading to Door County for a Great Lake getaway. But the House on the Rock is no small violet when it comes to attracting visitors to rural Spring Green, Wisconsin, about an hour’s drive west of Madison.
It has been featured in pop culture vehicles such as “American Gods,” both Neil Gaiman’s 2001 book and the 2017 TV series; “American Fable,” a 2017 film; and music videos from 10,000 Maniacs and the Raconteurs. But it has a niche, cult-like fame. Even Wisconsin residents sometimes haven’t heard of House on the Rock, and those who have often aren’t sure what it is.
Is it an architectural attraction, like another nearby Wisconsin destination, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin? Is it a museum? A creepy experience full of creepy creatures and disorienting sensory overload? A sentimental journey into the past? The answer to all these questions is: Yes!
Local Hidden Gems: A spotlight on the American treasures in our backyards
The House on the Rock in Spring Green is a weird and wild wonderland in Wisconsin, home to the world’s largest indoor carousel, a 200-foot statue of sea creatures, and other strange displays.
The entire venture is based on the dreamy, trippy imagination and design aesthetic of its founder, Madison native Alexander John Jordan. It started in the 1940s when Jordan hand-built a getaway house atop Deer Shelter Rock, a slab of rock that rises 60 feet above the surrounding landscape, according to the House on the Rock website. When people started getting curious about what Jordan did, he started charging a fee.
In 1960, House on the Rock was a business and Jordan made his money from the proceeds he collected. Entrance fees also helped Jordan expand the house and its contents, and soon the place reflected his penchant for collecting and creating a wide range of items, such as the model ship displays and a fantastic sea creature in the ‘Heritage of the Sea’. ” exhibition, a huge carousel, a peaceful Japanese-style garden and a huge collection of mechanical music machines. Visitors may experience vertigo by walking up to the ‘Infinity Room’, a structure that juts out over a cliff.
Jordan sold the House on the Rock to a business partner in 1988.
For more information: Opening times and entrance fees for the House on the Rock, visit thehouseontherock.com.
Keith Uhlig, Green Bay Press Gazette
This article originally appeared in Green Bay Press-Gazette: Why Wisconsin’s House on the Rock is a local hidden gem
