There's a secret about the House on the Rock. Many (if not most) of the exhibits and collections were not one-of-a-kind antiquities sought out from some far reaches of the world... they were constructed in the House workshops by craftspeople working for Alex, either starting with something old and changing/modifying it radically, or building something completely new from scratch and making it look old! An example is the "Mikado" illustrated on this page. Originally a large Mortier dance organ built in the 'teens or '20's in Belgium, it was brought to the House and modified/transformed in the workshops into the oriental orchestrion/organ you can see and hear at the attraction! There were about 1500 dance organs and orchestrions originally made by Mortier, and many survive in some form or other. Some were recyled to make new Dutch street organs or Decap dance organs, while others were simply junked, while still others sat forlorn until rediscovered and restored by collectors. This particular instrument was originally Mortier serial number 663, and many pictures of more-or-less original Mortier organs can be found here:http://www.dansorgels.nl/Mortier/mortierfotverz1.htm
Amy
03-Jul-2006 21:56
I went to the "House" for the first time back in April. I had no idea of what to expect, just that my mom wanted to go because it was a Lloyd Wright design kinda house. She didn't even know what to expect. I was SO blown away by it all. It was bizzare. It was fantastical. It was odd. It was like going to Disneyland, BUT seeing the attractions in a "distorted" way, because it's all brought together in this wherehouse/muesuem and your mind is constantly going "where did this guy get this..how did he find that?". I loved it! If I had to pick a favorite room, which I kept wanting to put "tokens" into, it would be the "Mikado" room.
