A Tale of Two Houses

I went to southwestern Wisconsin to see two houses. Although the houses are only a few miles apart, they couldn't be more different. Not surprisingly, they are the products of strong and visionary individuals. I wonder if the two ever met.

THE HOUSE ON THE ROCK



This most unusual structure almost defies description. But in a nutshell, a young man from Madison, Wisconsin, set out, at first, to build a getaway home atop a glacial pinnacle. That was amazing in itself. Building materials had to be lugged by hand up the vertical stone shaft. But the ongoing construction never ended. By the time of his death in 1989, Alex Jordan had created a phantasmagorical world of soaring rooms, unbelievable views, indoor bridges, cave-like nooks, spiral staircases, streets (yes, streets), and veritable realms, all housing parts of his too-huge-and-varied-to-get-your-mind-around collections of musical instruments, works of art, historical artifacts, ships, guns, dolls, doll houses, sea creatures, airplanes, Zippo lighters, and on and on. (And on.) And throughout the "house" you encounter monstrously huge Rube Goldberg-like mechanical musical thingamabobs which employ, among other instruments, self-playing violins (each with four bows - one for each string), guitars, mandolins, pianos, trumpets, cymbals, tambourines, water jugs, or glass jars. You can only stand in amazement at the sight of these self-playing orchestras as they strum, bow, beat, or toot their way through the Blue Danube Waltz or the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies. At various points in the house you find yourself in the Ocean Room or the Doll Room or the Circus Room. Rooms in this context might be considered domed stadiums elsewhere. In one such room you encounter the world's largest carousel with its "269 hand crafted animals and 20,000 lights." Particularly exciting is walking out into the cantilevered Infinity Room, a slim prong extending 218 feet out into space, 156 feet above the valley floor.

I began the self-guided tour of House on the Rock with mild anticipation followed, in succession, by growing interest, admiration for Mr. Jordan and his many eclectic pursuits, appreciation for the amount of work represented, some curiosity about a point to all this, rising concern for Mr. Jordan, and slight apprehension at not seeing a convenient way to exit. I think I was into the third hour when total sensory overload set in. At that point, the experience began to take on aspects of a dream within a Tim Burton movie, especially so as the lighting was fairly dim throughout the labyrinthine structure.

Looking back in a nutshell: I LOVED this place and would go back in an instant.













And now for the next house ...

TALIESIN



This is the home and workplace of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He spent his summers here and the winters at Taliesin West in Arizona. Wright is known for his simplified and organic designs in both commercial buildings and private homes. He tinkered with his ideas at Taliesin, which, like the House on the Rock, was a constant work in progress. By the way, Taliesin is pronounced "Tally Essen."

It's interesting to note that Wright, who died in 1959 and who worked almost up until the end, began practicing architecture in the mid 1880s, a time when frilly Victorian design was in full flourish. This was the world Wright was born into and, as an architect, was expected to uphold. In fact, his first designs were in the Victorian style. But early on he determined to be released from this mold. He envisioned buildings designed to fit into their surroundings, both in form and in materials used. He was obviously taken with geometric lines and shapes, as shown here in the house "Fallingwater." His designs are the essence of simplicity - long horizontal lines punctuated by strategic verticals and sometimes graceful curves. I found it interesting that he claimed to have been influenced by toy building blocks as a child.

I didn't actually get to visit Taliesin. It was late in the day when I got there (the House on the Rock ate up most of the day). Also, it was raining and a good portion of the Taliesin tour is outdoors. And finally, the price tag to get in is a bit hefty. I decided that this could wait for the day when Tracey and I can see the house together. I did, however, go on a short tour of the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture - which is housed in some of the earliest buildings Wright designed - and the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitors Center, which he also designed. These buildings all have the mark of the Wright influence.










Wright's emphasis on simplicity keeps coming back to me. There's a clarity of function about his buildings and it has great appeal.

I do wonder if Mr. Wright and Mr. Jordan ever met. Certainly their ideas on structure would be somewhat at odds. But maybe they would have recognized the genius in each other.

A word about southwestern Wisconsin. I had never been there and I had no idea how beautiful it is. I know they've had a lot of rain this year and maybe that's why it is so incredibly green. The emerald hills and valleys were a joy to drive through.