The Wonder House in Bartow, Florida: An Amazing Mansion Built From a Dream
Tucked away in Central Florida is a unique little mansion—if a mansion can be described as little—that has delighted generations of sightseers. Before grand tours of Cypress Gardens or days spent wandering through a Magic Kingdom, there was the Wonder House in Bartow, Florida.
Built of bedrock and brightly colored glass, Wonder House was the most whimsical attraction of the early 20th century. Today, it remains one of the wildest and perhaps weirdest destinations on the map.
Constructed by an eccentric dreamer with a fortune and architectural know-how, Wonder House follows no blueprint but its own. Words like “baroque” and “rococo” have no meaning here—there is only wonder, pure and blissful.
Dying Wish, Life Sentence
Conrad Schuck had one year to live.
That’s what the doctors said. His heart was weak.1
But his spirit…well, that was another story.
Schuck did what anyone would do with that kind of news. He moved to Florida to build his dream house. Okay, maybe that’s not what most people would do. But Schuck was nothing if not an original soul.
With his wife and nine children in tow, he arrived in Bartow and began building. There were complications to overcome (digging a foundation out of bedrock) and never-before-seen innovations (a third-floor koi pond) that he wanted to implement.2 Such a project promised to be mentally and physically taxing.
And yet, by some miracle, instead of draining Schuck, building Wonder House only seemed to strengthen him. Was building actually therapeutic? Did his grand inspiration spur him on? Or were his doctors back in Pittsburgh just barking up the wrong tree?
It’s hard to say for sure, but whatever the case, Schuck did not die that year or the next. (Or the next!) Schuck lived on for forty more years—but never did he live in his completed Wonder House.
Why??
Well, for Schuck, Wonder House wasn’t ever truly completed.3 It was an ever-growing, ever-morphing work of art, a sort of living house. Maybe he saw it as a parallel to himself: he wasn’t finished as the doctors said, so neither was Wonder House. They would have a life sentence together.
The Wonders of the House
Wonder House was built on a foundation of dreams and bedrock.
As a general rule, trying to excavate bedrock is…not great. But Schuck was a building contractor, stone quarry dealer, and visionary. Where other folks saw a problem, he saw a wonderful opportunity.
Incorporating the rocks into his design (which had no blueprint but his own imagination), Schuck decided to build a house of concrete over stone, reinforced with scrapped steel sold to him by a railroad line.4 Aside from the steel, Wonder House was basically built from the ground it sat on.
To combat the Florida heat, Wonder House was built in the shape of a cross, with each room opening up to two porches, allowing for much-needed drafts. Additionally, the porches were built with hollow concrete columns that would fill with cooling rainwater; it was the new-fangled air-conditioning of the 1920s! Oh, and the collected rainwater was also used to water Schuck’s many plants—which grew on the outside of the house—thanks to a clever spigot!
But that wasn’t all. Wonder House was united with nature, not just because of plants and bedrock but also because Schuck insisted on bringing the outdoors inside with an 8 x 10 fishpond on the third-floor porch! (Not to mention taxidermy and a rather morbid collection of jarred snakes…)5
All in all, the one-of-a-kind house was four stories tall, with two more stories below ground, and perched on 14 acres of property (now down to 2 acres). Beyond the house, the grounds sprawled out, featuring ponds and lovingly landscaped gardens.
From 1934 to 1963, Wonder House was open for public tours—10 cents to see the grounds and 25 cents to explore inside.6 Draped in greenery and sparkling with glass and tile embedded in its concrete, Wonder House was a symbol of both man and nature’s finest displays of beauty.
After 1963, Wonder House went through a series of owners, and even periods of abandonment, until it was purchased by its current owners in 2015. Open for tours once again and actively being restored, Wonder House is ready to enchant curious visitors—like you!
Touring Wonder House
A tour of Wonder House will not only give you a glimpse into the odd and wonderful mind of Conrad Schuck, but—at this stage—it will also give you a fantastic peek into what it’s really like to restore a historic site. Tours showcase both completed and in-progress rooms, so you get to see it all!
Historical tours of Wonder House must be booked in advance online—no walk-ups. After all, this is someone’s private home! You can make a reservation on the Wonder House website. FYI, available tour days are usually limited to weekends.
Admission is $25.00 for adults and $10.00 for children aged 10 and under. It’s also important to note that tours must be paid for in cash. (And bring extra if you’d like to splurge at the gift shop!)
Tours last one and a half to two hours, giving you an in-depth look at Schuck’s home, detailing not only his life and times but also the history of the house, from construction to the present day. There are all sorts of oddments to discover, from the moat and secret tunnels to ancient weaponry!7
Due to the nature of the house, there are lots of stairs, so wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for plenty of walking and standing.
Unusual and off the beaten path, Wonder House in Bartow, Florida, is a great day trip for those seeking less traditional fun. (And by off the beaten path, we mean just an hour from Orlando!) Prepare to be inspired by zany architecture and wild collections as you wander through this house’s wonders!
Conrad Schuck was unafraid to dream and unafraid to be himself, and Wonder House is a beautifully whimsical testament to that. You’ll walk away feeling ready to make your own wonderful mark on the world!
Have you been to Wonder House in Bartow? What was your favorite thing about the house? Tell us about your experience in the comments below! And if you have any suggestions for other unique Florida locales we should cover, we’d love to hear about those, too!
See you on the next adventure!
Cover Image
Photo: Boston Public Library via Flickr
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