If you are looking for a “What is that?” moment with your
family I have just the place.
The Wonder House located in Bartow FL, and is truly an inspiration
of Wonderment. Built by Conrad Schuck after being told he had only one year to
live. This 18 room, 4 story structure was
built from a collective mix of local materials.
A labor of love or maybe obsession the build took Schuck 13 years to
complete. (1926-1939) So much for Doctors.
The Wonder House was not built as a roadside oddity but
rather a family home for Mr. Schuck his wife and 5 sons. The
house was so interesting it made national news to include Ripley’s Believe It
or Not. To capitalize on this new found celebrity the
Schuck family took the advice of their neighbors and started charging visitors 25
cents for a tour.
I have had the rare privilege
of touring the Wonder House a few years back while it was a privet residence
and before the bank foreclosed. While
the outside of the structure remained mostly the same aside from the weeds. The inside was, well to be delicate, had undergone
alterations from the current owner that took away from the original design. Thankfully a lot of the integrity and creativity
was spared and what was altered seemed to be fixable.
Unfortunately the property is still in foreclosure and is not
open for the public. You
can however walk the grounds and peek through the windows to marvel at the wondrous legacy Mr. Conrad Schuck created for himself and his family.
We are in the process of trying to buy the house. But to no avail and no help. I would love to speak to you on your trip inside. We now have a petition underway to have the home put on a National Historic Register. I was told that a developer is in waits to buy the property, tear it down and add 6-8 homes on the almost 2 acre tract.
ReplyDeleteI truly look forward to hearing from you and talking about what you saw.
Sincerely,
Dana
I see it has been a long time since you posted the comment Dana but the house is on the market if you still wanted to buy it. I recently inspected it for quality control and just had to look up some information about it because it was so interesting. The inside is very unique and I was very intrigued. Wish I could buy it but I'm not in the market for a house right now.
DeleteI just found out that the bank who owns it, is having it torn down to build homes.
ReplyDeleteThis comment was posted a long time ago. However the Kries couple recently acquired the home back in 2015. They are currently restoring the home and are going to make it a public museum for everyone to come enjoy! the website is http://www.wonderhousebartow.com/home and i have already emailed them and they filled me in on everything about the house so its good to know! (by the way i recently drove by it and found it looking much better, all new windows, no more ugly wooden back porch, no more wasps, lots of new concrete fillings, new flowers in the pots, even a mowed out pool! it is looking great as of sometime in febuary and the pictures on the website. again check them out http://www.wonderhousebartow.com/home glad to tell you this
DeleteWell, I suppose we have the banks and developers to thank for being money hungry buttheads.. Things such as this house, would be one more thing to make Florida a historic beautiful place... The town I moved to Florida from, has a "No New House law" Because they care of their past and heritage... (And its full of 1890-1940 colonials)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I currently live local near "Babe Ruths' Childhood home... But the city of Pasco wants to build an amusement/waterpark less then 2 miles down the same road!!!! It'll be a matter ot time until they see land for more money and tear it down also..... The power of money in american's is heartbreaking.
I would love to speak to you, Dana about this house. Please get in touch with me.
ReplyDeleteI would love to speak to you, Dana about this house. Please get in touch with me.
ReplyDeletei read he had 9 children & that he never actually 'finished' the house but stopped after 10 years & just started giving tours there. i also read he lived to age 94. wish we had more accurate info.
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