Year: Contributed by: Cindyb
Set your imagination dancing! When you come to the House on the Rock, you enter a world of wonders spun into existence from the imagination of a genuine American visionary, Alex Jordan. Located in the beautiful rolling landscape of Southwest Wisconsin, this world-famous attraction welcomes nearly a million guests a year and sends them away dazzled and inspired.
Make sure you bring your walking shoes!
April 2008: House on the Rock has split its tours into three sections, which will help those who don't have the time (or stamina) to take in the whole place at once. Building renovations are also underway, although HotR management assures everyone that the collections will remain untouched. A new "Historic Center," which will reveal the history of Alex Jordan and the House, is scheduled to open in 2009.
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Open to public, but no tours are available on-site
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More Visit Info and How to Get there
Due to architectural design, a small portion of your visit may not be accessible by wheelchair, and some of the ramps in other parts may be a bit difficult. We recommend that you bring your own wheelchair.
Visit is self-guided. Allow three hours if you are purchasing the Ultimate Experience Admission.
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Building Info
History, Background and Context
Spring Green, WI is, in many respects, a showcase of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural legacy. House on the Rock, a 40-acre complex of buildings, exhibits, and gardens 10 miles south of town, was built by Alex Jordan and his son as a parody of Wright’s work. The complex is one of Wisconsin’s top tourist attractions.
During the 1940's, a man named Alex Jordan discovered a 60-foot chimney of rock in the beautiful Wyoming Valley. It was here he decided to build a house on the sandstone formation called Deer Shelter Rock. Jordan built the house as a weekend retreat and never intended it to be a tourist attraction. However, people kept coming to see the architectural wonder they had heard about. Jordan eventually started asking for 50 cent donations. That was only the beginning. The 14-room house is the original structure of what is now a complex of many buildings, exhibits and garden displays.
Alex was a collector all his life and enjoyed visiting museums; however, he did not want The House on the Rock to be a museum. He intended it to be much more than that. Though parts of the collections could have easily found their way into museums, The House on the Rock is more of a trip through the wild and fantastic imagination of Alex Jordan than a visit to a dusty, lifeless museum.
In December of 1988, Alex sold The House on the Rock to longtime associate Art Donaldson, a collector and a businessman who shared his broad interests. Alex remained at The House on the Rock as Artistic Director until his death on November 6, 1989. Art Donaldson continues to own The House on the Rock and builds on Alex's dream of expanding and entertaining visitors from all over the world. Alex continues to be in his own words, "Present but not voting".
Description and Notes
There are three sides to this amazing destination – The Attraction, The Inn and The Resort – all offering their own trio of sights, sounds and sensations.
The House on the Rock is the grand vision of Alex Jordan, who believed that sights and sounds were the most effective means of stimulating the senses. He wanted guests to question his creation, to come to their own conclusions and to turn his world of dreams into their own. The Attraction has room after room of some of the world's most unique and eclectic collections which has amazed thousands of visitors each year.
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By Alex Jordan In Spring Green
Comments
Our family has visited House on the Rock twice now. It is unbelievable. Our kids are between the ages of 11 and 5, and they all loved it.