After you have seen ten Greek ruins in Greece, ten Roman ruins in Italy, ten national parks and ten bears in America or Canada, ten big trees in America, New Zealand and all over, ten homes of famous people whose books you never read, then what? Maybe something completely different, amusing, amazing, which does not require you to research the history of a country or read a classic book, just an amusement, and lots of amusing photos. I have seen shell houses and grottoes in the UK, mostly at seasides, and the Dancing house restaurant in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic (pricey, but even the all different chairs and paint your own paper table mats are amusing). Here's a wonderful place to visit in California, the Nitt Witt House.
Apart from being a natural hoarder and collector of items others throw out, such as cans and bottles, how did the builder find all the practical bigger bits? At one point he was a city rubbish collector. That is an opportunity as well as an inspiration. He kept building all his life and lived into his nineties. Life was never dull for him. Every day a surprise, creativity. Joy in life. Alas, after he died, for a while it was empty and vandalised. But new owners restored it and opened it as a tourist attraction. Add it to your wish list.
A bit of fun.
Lessons Learned
An example of creativity.
How to avoid problems with planning permission.
How to be famous when you have no possessions and no skills.
How to beat boredom.
How to recycle.
It's on the California register of Historic Places.
Here are some more to visit, maybe nearer to you.
Here are some more:
USA
- Watts Towers. Sabato "Simon" Rodia constructed towers of wire, concrete and fragments of tile and china, in theWattsneighborhood ofLos Angeles.
- Baldassare Forestiere, another Italian immigrant in California born the same year as Rodia who built theForestiere Underground Gardens, inFresno.
- ISRAEL
- Hermit House, a unique residence located inHerzliya,Israelwith intricate mosaics entirely constructed by one man over thirty years.
- Mystery Castle, a house inPhoenix, Arizonabuilt in the 1930s in a similar style.
- Rubel Castle, a house inGlendora, Californiaconstructed in a similar style.
- Ferdinand Cheval, a French postman who constructed an "ideal palace" out of rocks in his spare time.
- Justo Gallego Martínez, a Spaniard who built his own cathedral.
- Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village. A woman who built a whole village of discarded bottles.
- House on the Rock Alex Jordan, Jr. constructed "Japanese House" atop rock pinnacle in Spring Green, WI.
- Coral Castle, a unique estate made entirely of hand-carved stone by an eccentric immigrant.
Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitt_Witt_Ridge
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