2014 The House on the Rock Attraction
FACT SHEET
The House on the Rock has been open to the public for 54 years! No matter how long or widely
you have traveled, you have never — anywhere or at any time — seen anything remotely like
The House on the Rock. Architectural marvel, stupendous panoply of amazing collections,
tribute to the power and beauty of nature, an explosion of one man's creative energy, it continues
to defy simple explanation — just as it continues to astound and delight hundreds of thousands of
visitors a year.
LOCATION:
The House on the Rock is located between Spring Green
and Dodgeville, Wisconsin at 5754 State Road 23.
OPERATING HOURS:
Regular Season:
March 13 to May 1, 2014 - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.*
*Open Thursday-Monday (closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays)
May 2 to May 22, 2014 open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
May 23 to September 1, 2014 open daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
September 2 to Oct. 20, 2014 open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oct. 21 to Nov. 16, 2014 - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.*
*Open Thursday-Monday (closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays)
Christmas as the House on the Rock:
Nov. 20, 2014 to Dec. 26, 2014 open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.*
*Closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thanksgiving Day,
Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Day
Dec. 27, 2014 to Jan. 4, 2015 open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
PHONE:
(608) 935-3639
WEBSITE:
www.thehouseontherock.com
OWNERSHIP:
The House on the Rock was owned by Alex Jordan until
1988. On December 14, 1988 he sold the House on the
Rock to Art and Karen Donaldson. The Donaldson’s still
own and operate the house on the Rock and continue to
build upon Alex Jordan’s dreams and visions.
EXHIBITS:
The Original House: An architectural marvel perched on
a 60-foot chimney of rock. A 375-foot ramp takes visitors
to the entrance of the House. Furnishings include Oriental
art, stained glass lamps, bronze statues and a three-story
book case filled with rare books.
Infinity Room: The 14th room of the House, completed in
1985 is a unique room with a panoramic view of Wyoming
valley. The engineering marvel extends 218 feet out over
the scenic valley and 156 feet above the forest floor. There
are an astonishing 3,264 windows for walls.
The Gate House: Serving as an entrance to the main
House, the Gate House greets you with warm, dramatic
stone walls and a huge fireplace.
The Mill House: Feel the dramatic ambience created by a
dazzling array of fragile glassware, suits of armor, a giant
bellows decorated with unusual paperweights, an immense
fire pit with huge cauldrons on the hearth of a huge
fireplace. There's so much to see — even special exhibits in
the Ladies' and Gentlemen's lounges.
The Streets of Yesterday: Stroll along the bricked street
of this life-size recreation of a 19th Century village, each
building authentically detailed inside and out. You'll
delight at the period furnishings of a wood-carver's shop,
china shop, sheriff's office, fire station, apothecary, carriage
house, Grandma's house, barbershop and much more.
The Heritage of the Sea Building: Stuffed to the gills
with an entire maritime collection, this building will
overwhelm you with its gigantic Sea Creature, longer than
the Statue of Liberty is tall, engaged in a titanic struggle
involving an octopus and a whaling expedition. Elsewhere,
you'll see a display of artifacts from the Titanic, an
exhibition of exquisitely carved scrimshaw and more than
200 highly detailed model ships and vessels.
The Tribute to Nostalgia Building: Ever take a cruise in
a 1963 Lincoln Continental? One that's armor-plated and
covered in tiles? It's just one of the marvelous modes of
travel you'll find in this exhibit, which also features a
comically complicated Rube Goldberg machine and a
display of Burma Shave signs.
Music of Yesterday: Prepare to be blown away —
perhaps literally — by the world's greatest collection of
animated, automated music machines, towering pipe organs
and dazzling orchestrions, popular in 19th Century Europe.
Separate rooms showcase a unique collection of
mechanically operated symphony orchestras, the 29-foot
tall Franz Josef and the famous Mikado with animated
Oriental figures.
The Spirit of Aviation: Reminiscent of a 1950s airfield,
this nostalgic display features a huge collection of remotecontrolled model planes with wingspans up to 8 feet,
including a P47N Thunderbolt, a Hawker Hurricane, an
A25 Invader, and other fighting planes from both World
Wars, plus Navy planes through the 1960s. See a 1918
Curtis biplane engine, a period airfield café and an
impressive collection of Seven-Up memorabilia.
The Carousel: The magnificent carousel is the world’s
largest with over 20,000 lights, 182 chandeliers and 269
handcrafted carousel animals – not one with a horse head!
It is 35 feet tall, 80 feet wide and weighs 36 tons. The
carousel was built and assembled at the House on the Rock.
It took 10 years to plan, construct and hand-finish this
amazing masterpiece, like none other in the world.
The Organ Room: This huge, dreamlike room is filled
with displays and constructions designed to fill the senses,
including huge vats, cannons, a giant ship's propeller, spiral
staircases, bridges, banks of organ pipes and a 45-foot-high
perpetual motion clock. The pieces de resistance, however,
are three of the greatest organ consoles ever built, one with
15 manuals and hundreds of stops.
Inspiration Point: This restaurant offers large windows
that provide awe-inspiring views of both the House on the
Rock and the Infinity Room.
The Doll House Building: More than 200 absolutely
gorgeous dollhouses, meticulously furnished, scaled and
crafted, down to the tiniest details, including interior
lighting. An amazing exhibit for all, it may overwhelm the
hearts of young girls.
The Circus Building: You could spend all day inspecting
the miniature circuses displayed here. Though comprised of
more than a million pieces, they are dwarfed by a colossal
circus wagon with 40-piece animated band, accompanied
by an 80-piece orchestra. The musical ensemble is
facilitated by 37 miles of wiring and 2,300 pneumatic
motors.
The Oriental Room: Although Oriental artifacts are
prominent throughout The House on the Rock, this room
features an entire collection of exquisitely carved ivories
accompanied by hand-carved cork exhibits, porcelain vases
and other treasures of the Orient.
The Armor Collection: See armor through the ages, from
King Arthur to the Samurai to Hannibal depicted crossing
the Alps. Much of the armor in this collection was made
especially for The House on the Rock.
The Weapons Exhibit: Chosen to delight both the casual
buff and the serious collector, this diverse collection of
antique and unusual firearms includes, among others,
Kentucky flintlock rifles, wheel locks, matchlocks,
pepperbox pistols, dagger-guns and a derringer concealed
in a lady's wooden leg.
The Crown Jewel Collection: You'll be dazzled by these
meticulous replicas of the Tower of London's Crown
Jewels as well as the royal tiara collection, crowns of
nobility, world-famous jewels and swords of state.
The Doll Carousel Building: Two enchanting doll
carousels, two and three tiers high, showcase hundreds of
bisque dolls, many riding ponies. And be sure to see the 60foot cannon or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The Container Gardens: This is one of the largest
container gardens in the Midwest. There are nearly 275
varieties of flowers and over half of those flowers are not
found in the Midwest.
The Japanese Garden: Designed in the “stroll style”
meant to encourage guests to slow down and take their time
to enjoy the garden from its many points of view. It
features a 14-foot quadruple waterfalls and a contemplative
koi pond.
The Asian Garden: Designed in the Japanese tradition of
a hillside and pond garden.
A wide variety of popular food is available, as well as souvenirs, gifts and candies. Picnic
grounds are provided outside the tour area on the grounds near the entrance for guests who prefer
to bring their own lunch.
For more information, please call 608-935-3639, or visit www.thehouseontherock.com.