Has anyone been to The House on the Rock?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I was thinking of taking a trip to see The House on the Rock in Wisconsin. Has anyone been there? Is it worth taking a trip to see?

Also if I’m flying up there I’d also stop by Madison and maybe Milwaukee, does anyone have any recommendations for what to see there?

I have been wanting to go on a trip sometime this year and the House on the Rock was on my mind. And I figured Wisconsin probably has some cool stuff that is overlooked as people go to bigger places for trips. Although I know The House probably will be more crowded with the TV show American Gods coming soon.

2

I have. Met this old black guy and this guy with a glass eye there.

Seriously, I’ve been. And it’s amazingly fun and cheesy. But it takes some time to tour it all so get there early if you can.

3

No matter what anyone says to you, do not go to Art’s Performing Center. Just…don’t…do…it.

Madison is quite fun; you could spend weeks sampling the various restaurants from low to high, and the dichotomy of a liberal, research oriented school and the conservative-skewing-to-fascist dominated legislature produces some interesting displays of protest.

Milwaukee has its good points; good bars on Water St, Brady St, and North Ave, excellent Greek food at Apollo, interesting art installations and overpriced cocktails at Elsa’s, a nice waterfront on Lake Michigan (as long as it isn’t right after the rain when the sewage treatment overflows into the lake), an excellent tour at Sprecher Brewery, a Santiago Calatrava-designed museum, and the most horrific rendition of Henry Winkler anyone has or will ever produce.

Stranger

4

Something important to bear in mind is that the House, itself, is a tiny tiny part of the “tour.”

You start out in the house, and then you follow this path that winds its way through several warehouse buildings filled with the collections of various things that were (apparently) owned by the guy who built the house. Hundreds and hundreds of music boxes, carousel horses, doll houses, etc., etc. And, as far as I could tell, when I visited (this was about 15 years ago), there was no good way to get out once you started in – you have to walk through the whole damned thing.

5

I’ve been to The House on the Rock, and quite enjoyed it. But, a couple of caveats: I was about ten years old, so I can’t guarantee how it would seem to an adult, and I can’t begin to guess how it has changed in the forty-plus years since then. But I sure thought it was neato-keano at the time.

Downtown Milwaukee has some great hot spots as noted above. There’s a place called the ??? ??? Fishmarket (can’t quite remember the name) which was bustling and fun.

The Isthmus in Madison is where the state Capitol and the University collide, lots of fun bars and restaurants there. Broom Street used to be hippy central; I don’t know if that is still true or not.

6

This. Fun, cheesy, and gigantic. Worth visiting, but figure on spending a whole afternoon there. To get there, stick to curvy county roads (anything named with a letter) and enjoy a nice scenic drive in the Driftless Area.

Not too big a detour from there: Cave Of The Mounds.

Stop in Mount Horeb and go troll-spotting.

Madison? Fantastic. Park at the bottom of State Street (Lake Street parking ramp), walk (up State Street) to the Capitol and back, sampling shops and restaurants along the way. Traffic is limited to buses, taxis and official vehicles, so criss-crossing on a whim is easy; just watch for folks zooming by on bicycles or skateboards.

Walk up Bascom Hill.

Check out the University Book Store (on Library Mall) for more Badger-related crap than you can shake a badger-killing stick at.

If you time it right, the farmer’s market on Capitol Square is humungous and amazing.

Also depending on timing, you might be interested in a Concert On The Square. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra plays live classical music on the Capitol lawn, and listeners (the ones who plan ahead, at least) spread a blanket out and have a picnic.

Speaking of the Capitol, check it out: it’s modeled after the US Capitol building in DC.

Also also dependent on timing: Maxwell Street Days, when State Street shop owners shuffle their goods outdoors for sidewalk sales.

Have a beer and a brat (or a couple of each) on the Memorial Union Terrace, a lakeshore beer garden operated by the university. Live music many nights during the warm months. If you’re not an alumnus there’ll be a $5 fee to get your evening there started, but if you’re gonna hang out for a while, it’s worth it. The summer is a great time to be there because the undergrad students are all gone, making it much less crowded; you’ll just be sharing the space with grad students and local residents.

Park near Picnic Point, and hike out to the tip of the narrow peninsula.

Looking for a longer walk? Start your hike at the Terrace (there’s a parking ramp there), and follow the path around the lakeshore to Picnic Point.

Looking for a better view of the lake? Check out Observatory Hill (Take Observatory Drive west from the Union; you’ll know the view when you see it).

Visit the headquarters of The Onion and pick up a souvenir mug.

Consider a food tour. Whether you do a tour or not, Madison has a ridiculous diversity of restaurants to choose from whenever you get hungry: Himalayan, Japanese, Greek, German, Jamaican, Afghan, and tons of others. OK, maybe not the Jamaican anymore: I just found out that Jolly Bob’s Jerk Joint closed a couple of years ago. :frowning: If you want historic greasy-spoon fare, try Mickie’s Dairy Bar.

Visit the Henry Vilas Zoo; admission is absolutely free.

7

It’s been years since I visited, but I recall that the House itself was kind of cool, but smelled a bit musty.

The collections ranged from interesting (depending on one’s own interests) to impressive in their scope, to a bit disturbing, to a kind of contrived quirkiness that felt like they were trying too hard to be weird–the manikins on the carousel, for example.

8

House on the Rock is absolutely worth your time, but as was mentioned, it contains more neat things than can be seen in a single afternoon.

One item I’d like to mention is the Very Large Carousel. Most people have experienced the sensation of looking at a moving object and feeling that it’s stationery, and the world around it is moving. That can happen while looking out a train window, or staring up at clouds. But, I’ve never experienced it as powerfully, as while standing in the room and watching the carousel spin.

It was extremely easy to make the room move around the merry-go, and the illusion could be sustained for as long as you wish. The key factor was, probably, that the carousel was big enough to fill the whole width of your field of view.

9

It probably works best if you spend the preceding night at the Don Q in Dodgeville, to get yourself into the right mood. And if you like crazy-ass stuff, there is the Dickeyville Grotto, not to far afield, but a ways to go for a place you would probably not spend a half hour appreciating.

10

Went there in the mid-90’s and it was fun. Definitely spent the day there. We drove up from Chicago the night before and stayed at a motel so we could get there at opening without having to get up at the butt crack of dawn. Even the little old motel was weird (slow toilets and deep carpet) and added to the experience for sure.

11

I went to HotR about 20 years ago, and it was cheesy and fun. It was not far from the Wisconsin Dells, home of giant waterparks and mini-golf empires. It was a fun side trip, but I don’t know if I’d fly across several states specifically to see it. It’s a fun little slice of Americana, though.

12

My mind went to the place.

13

How does it compare to Wall Drug, in South Dakota? I’ve been there, and the descriptions of the House on the Rock make it sound similar.

14

Wall Drug is mostly a store, as I recall. House on the Rock is mostly exhibits with less retail. And probably less teeming.

15

Previous HOTR discussions:

My opinion hasn’t changed.

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And here’s a recent thread on what to do in WI: What to do in Wisconsin? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board

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I’ve been to Wall. My mom retired to the Black Hills and I’ve stopped in several times. Wall Drug is fun, yes, and cheesy. But the House on the Rock is one of the basic standards against which all other roadside attractions are measured.

18

We met a group of older ladies who came up and literally begged us to tell them how to get out.

19

I’ve been there. I thought it was going to be far more noteworthy than it actually was. It’s more or less just one guy’s collection of junk. It might be interesting if you like seeing what kind of junk people with lots of money collect.

20

House on the Rock is…interesting. There’s plenty of discussion about it here, QtM linked to it already. Personally, I’d say if you were going to be here already, and by here, I mean within 30 minutes of it, I’d say it’s worth it. Driving or flying from Texas to Wisconsin just for that, I’d hope you have other plans. Like I said, it’s interesting, but it’s like walking in to a really bizarre antique shop (granted, it’s been a long time since I’ve been there, so my memory is hazy).

What’s your time frame for this? IIRC, you’ll be near Spring Green, you may want to make a run for Taliesin East. It’s a bit less touristy than everything else (but I think it still fills up fast). I’ll leave out a direct link to anything just because there’s a lot to read about it, but it’s the home of Frank Lloyd Wright. His work is very prominent in Wisconsin.

If you’re coming with family, you’ll be practically down the road from The Dells. If it’s a hot day out, even with the long lines and high prices, honestly, you can’t go wrong at Noah’s Arc (HUGE water park). If you don’t like waterparks, just a little further down the strip is a huge go-kart park [<-all part of one track] (and maybe another one around the corner?).
If you would end up staying in The Dells overnight, I remember seeing Tommy Bartlett when I was little and liking him.
They also have helicopter tours as well as amphibious land/water “duck tours” (but I don’t know if those are back up and running since we lost the dam).
There’s tons more in The Dells, yeah, it’s touristy, but it’s fun.

I can’t really help you with Madison. I live in Milwaukee, but so do a few other people. Another thing to keep in mind is that from Wisconsin Dells (which is about an hour from HotR), you’ll be about 2 hours from Milwaukee but also about 3 hours from the Twin Cities. I’m not sure if that means anything to you so I’m just putting it out there.
PS, there’s some kind of Clown Museum or Clown Hall of Fame or something in Baraboo, I keep meaning to see what that’s all about.