House on the Rock simply defies explanation. It is, first and foremost, a house - and quite a unique and wonderful one at that. Built high on Deer Shelter Rock and overlooking the forest below, the house is the creation of Alex Jordan Jr. who began construction on it in 1945. Using the natural terrain of Deer Shelter Rock and building around many of the trees that were there, Jordan moved much of the material in the original structure by hand. It may not be the best built house structurally, but aesthetically it is quite stunning, incorporating natural materials and Japanese design features.
When House on the Rock was featured in a local Madison magazine, people began to show up to see it and asked Jordan for a tour. He started charging people 50 cents and soon realized that there was money to be made from his creation. He began to market it and add different marvels to his roadside attraction. Soon enough, thousands of people a year were coming to see it and Jordan hired a staff and began construction on other buildings to house his strange and eclectic collections. The Streets of Yesteryear is a walk down a recreated Victorian Era Street while the Heritage of the Sea features a massive three-story statue of a sea monster battling a whale-like creature. Jordan collected and built beautiful musical creations from around the world and then built the world’s largest carousel featuring 269 animals (none of them horses) and 20,000 lights. His collections of guns, dollhouses, musical instruments and model ships could have their own museums. Over a million people a year now make their way to this Wisconsin landmark, making it one of the state’s most visited sites.
It’s definitely a “roadside attraction”, but it’s so much more than that. It’s weird and whimsical and overwhelming to the senses. It takes hours to walk through and while I didn’t learn much while I was there, I sure enjoyed myself. It’s like a giant funhouse for adults and definitely worth the price of admission. I was overwhelmed. Much of House on the Rock and its outbuildings are dark and extremely hard to photograph, but some of the photos I took came out okay. They cannot possibly do justice to the experience, though, and I don’t think any photos really could. It’s definitely a place that has to be experienced for one’s self. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy my attempt to share with you some of my favorite photos from my day at House on the Rock - a place you simply have to see to believe.
Lamp Shop
The Sea Monster (with people for scale)