Friday, September 11, 2009

Tuesday, Sept. 8 - Part 1

I hope you aren't sick of pictures of the House on the Rock after yesterday's post(s). There was just so many neat things there that it is hard to pick the ones I'd most like to share with you (realize that I took, literally, hundreds of photos here).

Today's tour started with The Mill House. It is the first building Alex Jordan added after the House and Gate House were completed, and "it is here that he first reveals his intent to 'entertain, astound and amaze' his guests with the fantastical, energetic environments he created" and starts displaying some of his eclectic collections.


This is a huge, room-sized, fireplace (this is the one that has the stairs inside it that I mentioned yesterday). You can get an idea of the size when you consider that the suit of armor in the foreground is lifesize! You could probably fit a whole cow in the cauldrons!


This fancy paperweight collection was displayed in a giant bellows (I don't know WHY --- he just liked to surprise visitors and do things differently.)


"Built in 1893, the rare Regina Sublima plays tunes from tiny metal fingers much like a music box."


This is from a collection of antique firearms. These particular ones are called "pepperbox pistols" and could have up to 30 barrels!



This next section is called "The Streets of Yesteryear," where you can stroll down the brick street and peer into the shop windows and get a glimpse of what life was like at the turn of the century (the LAST century, that is). It is nighttime, so the shops are closed. Here are a couple of my favorites:


The "Apothecary" was my favorite building in the "Yesteryear" section. Remember, these are all REAL bottles (or exact reproductions) of what was used in the late 1800's/early 1900's. Jenny Craig has nothing on this diet aid: Tapeworms! (don't worry, they're "sanitized.")


















If you can read this (after clicking on it and enlarging it), you might get a kick out of it, like I did. Its selling point, for this new "horseless carriage," is that it drives using reins --- just like a horse!


This was one of the walls inside one of the Women's Restrooms!




The Clock House (thru window).

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