House on the Rock, Part the Sixth... but first...

As they say, the best laid plans... Nope, I didn't even get halfway to my goal for finishing the novel. HOWEVER, I have been working on it, bit by freakin' bit, and I'm going to try to get that first draft in the bag by the end of the year so that I can at least vary my resolution list just a tad. I'll post updates when it seems to make sense, and I promise a December 31 update--which I HOPE will present a satisfactory outcome.

Now, back to the House on the Rock!

After the Organ Room (the exploration of which includes a respite at a new (to us) cafe off a side passage, complete with restrooms decorated in that incomparable HOTR style), the HOTR visitor is funneled into a massive display of doll houses, watched over by--you guessed it!--creepy dead-eye dolls.



True to HOTR form, this is not a display of three or four elaborately appointed doll houses. Oh no. This is a veritable TOWN of doll houses, done up--both exterior and interior--in a host of different styles. Victorian? Edwardian? Queen Anne? Saltbox? Tudor? Craftsman? Cape Cod? Georgian? Manhattan brownstone? HOTR has them all and more. The doll houses and their meticulously detailed miniature furnishings are quite fascinating, but the sheer volume is overwhelming. And, if you haven't caught on to this already, overwhelming is the lynchpin of the HOTR experience. Now, the looming full-sized dead-eyed dolls add the requisite air of the macabre to this display, but there is something else that plays into the general weirdness of the doll house rooms, and that is the preponderance of miniature details under glass:

The wispy lady at her dressing table...



Daddy Warbucks in his dotage, wondering why the heck Little Orphan Annie never calls...



And this poor stiff, who it appears is about to become his cocker spaniel's next meal.



These are only a FEW of the disturbing scenes set for the wide-eyed tourist on his or her trek through the doll houses.

But these are just the beginning of Jordan's infatuation with the miniature. Prepare yourself, dear reader, for the Circus Rooms!



I have to confess that the miniature circus displays are among my favorite portions of House on the Rock. They are so detailed and complete and colorful that they charm me every time. Here is a detail from the largest three-ring circus on display:



Also on display are smaller circuses, circus trains, and just about all the side tents and animal and performers' quarters you could think of--and some more besides. Here is the model of the dressing tent:



So cool.

Of course, our man Alex could not simply confine the circus theme to his considerable collection of miniatures--oh my, my, no. He had to regale his visitors with another multi-story hangar-sized arena, complete with performer bedecked pachyderm



and enormous babe-packed circus wagon.



The wagon itself has a small brass combo--an assemblage of (I'm sure you will agree) dummies that are quite, um, the lookers...



But the music in the room is provided by this orchestra of dummies--some of which may look kind of familiar.



On different trips to this roadside Mecca, I've noticed mannequins who bear striking resemblance to Nancy Reagan, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon...

As if elephants and wagons and orchestras are not enough, what the HOTR literature touts as the world's most complete collection of Baranger Motions--mechanical displays that graced the windows of jewelry stores on Main Streets throughout the U.S.A. back in the mid-20th century. If you are of a *certain* age, you may well see one that you remember from YOUR local jeweler.



They are quite charming, and many feature some twist on the bride-and-groom motif, but there are so many on display here (and so many duplicates) that by the time you're ready to leave the Circus Room, your eyes are glazing over. Don't let them glaze TOO much, though, because there is more.

We're nearing the end of the tour, believe it or not, but we still have the galleries to go through. And the one room that gives me the mega-creeps.

Stay tuned!