Gosh, I don't know what to say about this attraction other than WOW! It was truly a spectacular thing to see and I have a hard time wrapping my brain around everything displayed there. It is, as one website described, "An exotic and eclectic creation of collections, displays, and galleries." This creation was the product of Alex Jordan who started the ball rolling as far back as 1945 with his dream to build a house on top of a chimney of rock. In 1960 the initial attraction was basically open to the public when more and more people wanted to see his eclectic collections. First, there's the main house itself built upon a chimney of rock. Then there are all the out-buildings displaying a marvelous array of collections, from dolls, to whole rooms of antque automated music machines, the world's largest indoor carousel, armor, etc., etc., etc.
I have an admission to make: my photos suck! I didn't take that many and at the time still had that Polaroid SX-70. What I do have are some really cool memories. It might be best to peruse a couple of websites to get a better idea of what this place is and what it offers. Of course, these are modern websites while my visit reflects some of what it looked like over 40 years ago.
https://quirkytravelguy.com/house-on-rock-wisconsin/ (BTW, DISREGARD this websites advice that it may not worth being a visit unless you're in the area. It is very much a 'must see' attraction!!)
The SX-70 pix are mine
Theese photos were from my travelling partner - ya know what? I forgot who the heck I was with when we took this trip LOL
Okay, it's a little hard to describe but as I remember it, these 'musical rooms' were once very popular in the late 1800s. Alex Jordan, the collector who built this marvelous place, had acquired and assembled quite a few of these old attractions. All of the instruments play via some form of pneumatic or mechanical contrivance and they all play an actual tune - not just a cacaphonous blaring of disconnected sound. It's quite fascinating to watch and to listen to, almost like a ghost band out of the pages of Walt Disney: has someone put the Substitutiary Locomotion spell on these? :-)
Several working calliopes are a part of the collection. I had always been a circus lover and enjoy the rousing sound of a calliope in action - the music reverberates through you body - it'll wake ya up, that's for sure! LOL
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