House on the Rock, part two.
Oct. 25th, 2010 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valis2Visiting Wisconsin's legendary House on the Rock with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gypsyjolie was absolutely magical. And logospilgrim, there's a picture inside just for you...
And if you are a cephalopod enthusiast, you must look at this entry.
Back to part one
Okay. So this is a little further into the "house" portion. There was an area with a lot of stained glass items. There were four panels featuring the seasons, which are copies of Tiffany pieces. The room was rather homey and like a funky living room.
Autumn.
Winter.
Random Foo dog. There is stuff everywhere. This was up near the ceiling and I only saw it becausegypsyjolie pointed it out.
Spring.
Summer.
There was a docent present in this room, who pointed out the "Tiffany" lamp, which is, in fact, only Tiffany-style. Another copy, presumably made by the same company who did a lot of stained glass for the House, the Illinois firm of Bauer and Coble.
After this point the House was less, well, house-like, and began to take a different shape. Little did I know what amazements were in store for me.
And now I shall illustrate the problem I had with photography inside the murky House. You see, I didn't want to mess too much with settings I didn't understand, and also I didn't want to spend a lot of time changing settings, so I had two modes available; flash, and no flash. Here is an exhibit of guns, taken with no flash.
The same exhibit, but with flash. One is magical but hard to make out; one is horrible and overexposed but you can see everything. What a dilemma!
I think this was actually the exterior of a bathroom, though I can't remember now.
Dolls. Sadly, I missed the Ultra Creepy Doll Carousel, because it was closed at the moment. But here is a small scattering of dolls to tide you over.
This was such a beautiful sight. I immediately thought oflogospilgrim as soon as I saw the angel. I wish the picture could do it justice. It's a little dark and it's hard to make out the wings. Logos, if you want a bigger version, please let me know and I'll email it to you.
I don't even know how to explain the next part of this journey. You see, after the house section, you end up on...A STREET. YES. A street. A very real faux village street. With large "trees" and storefronts and cobblestones. OMG SO COOL BEYOND BELIEF. It was amazing. This is a picture with the camera tilted up so you can see into the lights that are strung on the trees. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. It was so captivating. I can't even explain, but being inside a house where someone has constructed a city street...um...it just made me marvel. It's called "The Streets of Yesterday."
On the street, there were many amazing things to look at. Some of the storefronts had such crazy items inside...fantastic antique medical implements, advertisements, jars full of strange specimens, boots...it was extraordinary. One of the displays had old advertisements that advised tapeworms for weight loss.
Another figurehead. You can see the upper part of the building has a facade of stained glass and wood. No matter where you look, there is something interesting. I'm amazed that there are stained glass panels (or maybe faux-stained glass) positioned there; I mean, seriously, without the flash of the camera I don't think you could evern see them, because it's so dark and they're so high up. Yet again, another example of how there are unusual details everywhere, and how you could never see everything, no matter how hard you look.
There were coin-operated dioramas, which is HOMG one of the coolest things ever. This one was called the Wages of Sin. Sadly, this is the worst picture that has ever been taken of it.
Let me try to explain. On the left is a bed (you can just barely see the edge of it) with a figure lying in the bed. Once you put the coin in, various things happen. The figure sits up, and the door opens and a skeleton comes in. There are various things to suggest a sinful life, and the skeleton is a morality lesson, that the wages of sin are death. It's from the turn of the century and it's fabulous. There were several of them and they were all so amazing. Sadly, I remembered I had a camera too late; this is literally the very last moment of light in the show. Next time I'll have better pics. Maybe a vid? It's incredible. Oh, here's a YouTube vid of some of the dioramas. Look at the 2:26 mark for the Wages of Death. Wow, there were some I didn't see. Not surprising--there are miles of things to look at.
I have a great love for antique amusement machines and these were SPLENDID. The kind of machine that is so hokey and low-tech that it is usually disassembled by later generations or tossed in the dump. That anyone saved these is absolutely a mystical event.
Another twin lamp figurehead.
At the end of the street there was an enormous music automaton. It was really beautiful and the size of a city bus, seriously. Here's one detail, showing these gorgeous glass jars, and you can see a drum on the right. Most of the music of these automatons comes from a pipe organ hidden within. At the time of the tour, I wasn't certain, but now that I've watched a few YouTube vids it's become clearer to me that the Wiki article was right. The drums are making noise, as are some of the melodic percussion instruments, but most of the stringed instruments are rigged for show and are not really contributing.
So here's the forerunner for the cephalopod love. This is a little music automaton at the foot of...
...the most awesome spectacle I have ever seen. It's called the Whale Room.gypsyjolie was very mum about the whole thing, and did not spoil me one bit, and then we were in the room, and I nearly died.
This is a three story room which holds an enormous sculpture depicting a whale and what I believe they are calling a giant squid (though it looks like an octopus to me) locked in mortal combat. This is a horrible picture taken from the bottom of the sculpture.
IT IS THREE STORIES HIGH.
LET ME REPEAT. IT IS THREE STORIES HIGH. AND IT IS IN A ROOM.
The room has a walkway that wraps all the way around it a few times so you can get to the top of the sculpture. There are display cases completely lining the walls, so as you go up the walkway you can look at all sorts of amazing things, like this bit of prayer scrimshaw.
At the top, there is the Throne of Passion. Only the bravest would dare sit upon it.
WHALE.
I REPEAT, WHALE. OCTOPUS. I know that this looks crude and all papier-mâche and stuff, but with the dark lighting? It was awesome and looked fantastic.
The octopus, from above.
WHALE.
ha! I love the rowboat in its maw.
Stay tuned for part three, where I actually take a few good pictures. I know, hard to believe.
gypsyjolie was absolutely magical. And logospilgrim, there's a picture inside just for you...And if you are a cephalopod enthusiast, you must look at this entry.
Back to part one
Okay. So this is a little further into the "house" portion. There was an area with a lot of stained glass items. There were four panels featuring the seasons, which are copies of Tiffany pieces. The room was rather homey and like a funky living room.
Autumn.
Winter.
Random Foo dog. There is stuff everywhere. This was up near the ceiling and I only saw it because
gypsyjolie pointed it out.Spring.
Summer.
There was a docent present in this room, who pointed out the "Tiffany" lamp, which is, in fact, only Tiffany-style. Another copy, presumably made by the same company who did a lot of stained glass for the House, the Illinois firm of Bauer and Coble.
After this point the House was less, well, house-like, and began to take a different shape. Little did I know what amazements were in store for me.
And now I shall illustrate the problem I had with photography inside the murky House. You see, I didn't want to mess too much with settings I didn't understand, and also I didn't want to spend a lot of time changing settings, so I had two modes available; flash, and no flash. Here is an exhibit of guns, taken with no flash.
The same exhibit, but with flash. One is magical but hard to make out; one is horrible and overexposed but you can see everything. What a dilemma!
I think this was actually the exterior of a bathroom, though I can't remember now.
Dolls. Sadly, I missed the Ultra Creepy Doll Carousel, because it was closed at the moment. But here is a small scattering of dolls to tide you over.
This was such a beautiful sight. I immediately thought of
logospilgrim as soon as I saw the angel. I wish the picture could do it justice. It's a little dark and it's hard to make out the wings. Logos, if you want a bigger version, please let me know and I'll email it to you.I don't even know how to explain the next part of this journey. You see, after the house section, you end up on...A STREET. YES. A street. A very real faux village street. With large "trees" and storefronts and cobblestones. OMG SO COOL BEYOND BELIEF. It was amazing. This is a picture with the camera tilted up so you can see into the lights that are strung on the trees. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. It was so captivating. I can't even explain, but being inside a house where someone has constructed a city street...um...it just made me marvel. It's called "The Streets of Yesterday."
On the street, there were many amazing things to look at. Some of the storefronts had such crazy items inside...fantastic antique medical implements, advertisements, jars full of strange specimens, boots...it was extraordinary. One of the displays had old advertisements that advised tapeworms for weight loss.
Another figurehead. You can see the upper part of the building has a facade of stained glass and wood. No matter where you look, there is something interesting. I'm amazed that there are stained glass panels (or maybe faux-stained glass) positioned there; I mean, seriously, without the flash of the camera I don't think you could evern see them, because it's so dark and they're so high up. Yet again, another example of how there are unusual details everywhere, and how you could never see everything, no matter how hard you look.
There were coin-operated dioramas, which is HOMG one of the coolest things ever. This one was called the Wages of Sin. Sadly, this is the worst picture that has ever been taken of it.
Let me try to explain. On the left is a bed (you can just barely see the edge of it) with a figure lying in the bed. Once you put the coin in, various things happen. The figure sits up, and the door opens and a skeleton comes in. There are various things to suggest a sinful life, and the skeleton is a morality lesson, that the wages of sin are death. It's from the turn of the century and it's fabulous. There were several of them and they were all so amazing. Sadly, I remembered I had a camera too late; this is literally the very last moment of light in the show. Next time I'll have better pics. Maybe a vid? It's incredible. Oh, here's a YouTube vid of some of the dioramas. Look at the 2:26 mark for the Wages of Death. Wow, there were some I didn't see. Not surprising--there are miles of things to look at.
I have a great love for antique amusement machines and these were SPLENDID. The kind of machine that is so hokey and low-tech that it is usually disassembled by later generations or tossed in the dump. That anyone saved these is absolutely a mystical event.
Another twin lamp figurehead.
At the end of the street there was an enormous music automaton. It was really beautiful and the size of a city bus, seriously. Here's one detail, showing these gorgeous glass jars, and you can see a drum on the right. Most of the music of these automatons comes from a pipe organ hidden within. At the time of the tour, I wasn't certain, but now that I've watched a few YouTube vids it's become clearer to me that the Wiki article was right. The drums are making noise, as are some of the melodic percussion instruments, but most of the stringed instruments are rigged for show and are not really contributing.
So here's the forerunner for the cephalopod love. This is a little music automaton at the foot of...
...the most awesome spectacle I have ever seen. It's called the Whale Room.
gypsyjolie was very mum about the whole thing, and did not spoil me one bit, and then we were in the room, and I nearly died.This is a three story room which holds an enormous sculpture depicting a whale and what I believe they are calling a giant squid (though it looks like an octopus to me) locked in mortal combat. This is a horrible picture taken from the bottom of the sculpture.
IT IS THREE STORIES HIGH.
LET ME REPEAT. IT IS THREE STORIES HIGH. AND IT IS IN A ROOM.
The room has a walkway that wraps all the way around it a few times so you can get to the top of the sculpture. There are display cases completely lining the walls, so as you go up the walkway you can look at all sorts of amazing things, like this bit of prayer scrimshaw.
At the top, there is the Throne of Passion. Only the bravest would dare sit upon it.
WHALE.
I REPEAT, WHALE. OCTOPUS. I know that this looks crude and all papier-mâche and stuff, but with the dark lighting? It was awesome and looked fantastic.
The octopus, from above.
WHALE.
ha! I love the rowboat in its maw.
Stay tuned for part three, where I actually take a few good pictures. I know, hard to believe.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 04:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 04:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 05:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 05:23 pm (UTC)I loved how crap stuff was mixed in with good stuff. It's such a crazy concept and it's all so intriguing to look at!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 04:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 05:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 05:52 pm (UTC)If the doll carousel was closed does that mean you didn't get to see the Four Horsemen? Those are in the doll carousel room, aren't they?
One of these day, when I get AT&T out to hook up internet in the living room, I'll get on my desktop and throw all my HotR pictures up on flickr.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 06:11 pm (UTC)And nope, I did not get to see the Four Horsemen, sadly! :(
Oooh, I'd love to see your pics!
I'm so excited about the next batch. I took a couple good pics of some of the music automatons. squee!!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 07:59 pm (UTC)Those dolls are creepy. I'm always creeped out by dolls with eyes like that.....*shivers*
Love the Tiffany pieces. Gorgeous!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 08:11 pm (UTC)The bathroom at the entranceway has tons of weird dolls in plexiglass cases...it really is spooky.
And the Tiffanyesque stuff was gorgeous! Great copies.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 10:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 10:47 pm (UTC)And yes. You must. Absolutely. *grins*
There was more, btw. I just couldn't get good shots of some of the stuff, sadly.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-25 11:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 12:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 12:23 am (UTC)And, shucks :-) God bless you for your kind words... I would love a larger version of the angel photograph! It is exquisite ♥
~The figure sits up, and the door opens and a skeleton comes in~
I would have died of delight, I tell you.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 12:29 am (UTC)I will email it to you tonight!
I would have died of delight, I tell you.
Seriously, they were all so cool. I loved seeing them! There was one that was locked, so I couldn't see it, but hopefully I will be able to next time. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 03:10 am (UTC)And OMG they have a squid and whale thing, too! It looks much more superevil than the one at AMNH, which is all realistic and scientific-like and kind of boring. This one is like something out of a Melville novel. That place must be huge.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 03:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 09:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 01:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-27 05:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-28 11:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-29 04:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-29 05:06 pm (UTC)