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Passersby would marvel at the two concrete bridges, each spanning 30 feet, which led up to the house over a pond stocked with koi carp. Then there was the house itself, an 18-room structure with four stories. Ms. Apel, a retired law professor, is having trouble climbing stairs. Room 1523, with a closed-circuit audio-visual feed, will serve as an overflow courtroom for press and the public. Proceedings will take place on weekdays, excluding Wednesdays.
Unique Architecture
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The current owners have re-created some of the prior attractions. I won’t give it all away; you’ll need to visit to witness all the attractions. When you visit the Wonder House, you’re treated like a guest, rather than some patron to a museum.
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Upon doctors telling him he had only one year to live, Schuck packed up his family, and started to build his dream home in sunny Central Florida. The DuCharme family purchased the house in 1964 and completed the construction. They made very few structural changes but did add central air and heat, enclosed a porch to be used for a breakfast room and remodeled several bathrooms. The Wonder House is available for historic tours by online advance reservations only. Be sure to check the official website for more information. After making a career for himself in music, Wonder ended up living in places from the east to the west coast and has lived at several mansions since his days in Detroit.
The fine printNeed-to-know information for guests at this property
So he decided to take his wife and nine children to Bartow, and to use his architectural knowledge and his fortune, to build the house of his dreams. The porches were also designed to cool the house, as they were built with hollow concrete columns. Cold rain water from the roof ran through the inside of the walls, and could be turned on with a spigot to water the plants growing on the outside of the house. You will be the first to know about new historic tour dates and specialty tours. It’s hard to imagine the original brilliance when you see the house today or view pictures of it.
It starts with a booking
Fortunately for all of us, they are saving a marvel for generations to come. Conrad was of German heritage, and several stories about him being a spy. At one point, he was arrested and jailed for three days during World War II, then released. Conrad was not a spy; ultimately, the FBI issued a press release declaring that Conrad Schuck was not a German spy. If you take the current tour, which I highly recommend, you’ll learn more about what people came to see.
There's a rainwater cooling system flowing through the house, a third-floor koi pond, a moat, concrete bridges, secret tunnels and two basements. Justifiably proud of what he had achieved, Shuck opened his home to the public in 1934, and it became a popular local tourist attraction for about 30 years. The Wonder House in Bartow was once a popular tourist attraction in post Depression-era Florida. Built by a man who thought he was dying, the magnificent mansion was later abandoned until restoration began in 2016. Rudy Enriquez, now a retired music manager, has refused to sell the property, though he has admitted to frequenting the site to feed his two cats who live there. The exterior of the mansion is in slow decay, and the local neighbors have had to pitch in to help maintain the property.
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Conrad Schuck and his family never lived in the Wonder House. So in 1926, he dreamed, and built, big, really big, all without blueprints. "The Wonder House" in Bartow is truly an architectural marvel, around 10,000 square feet of concrete and tile and sheer ingenuity. BARTOW, Fla. — One of Florida's first-ever tourist attractions is weird, wild — and once again open for business. When the foundation was dug, a pump room was built 22 feet down. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world’s hidden wonders.
Tour the Wonder House
In 2008, Variety reported that Wonder had put his house on Chislehurst Drive in Los Angeles up on the market. “When I was just a little kid, I told my dad I wanted to restore historic homes and be an archeologist and live in a museum. I love antiques and history and I delve into them in my free time,” Kreis said. With guided tours once again filling the 18-room home, this is an exciting time for visitors and locals alike to experience an important piece of Central Florida history.
Property highlights
But when it was purchased in an online auction that same year, its new owner, attorney Drew Davis, stated his intention to return the mansion to its former glory. And while that will likely take many years, the Wonder House does at least appear to be in good hands once again. Considering his short life expectancy, it was an ambitious project indeed. But 13 years later, Schuck and his sons were still working on what would become known as the Wonder House.
The Wonder House is open year-round with a variety of different tours and events. However, you must book ahead on their website as the owners live on site. “It’s really just so fascinating to own a piece of history here in Bartow and be able to bring it back to life for people to enjoy,” Kreis said.
Nikki Webster is a travel writer who covers how to travel while grinding a day job without breaking the bank. Nikki is always in search of off-the-beaten-track experiences and unique stays. She is particularly fond of Florida and writes extensively about the state. She flies around 60,000 miles annually and has visited 74 countries, 50 states, and six continents.
A history that the home’s caretaker, Krislin Kreis, is bringing back to life for all to enjoy. I had never heard of The Wonder House until Bartow’s local community told me about it. I’ve always been passionate about exploring mansions, castles, and palaces. I would describe it as a mysterious time capsule once home to a vast collection of one man’s eccentric collections.
The house is built in the shape of a cross, and Conrad made concrete channels to gather rainwater. This served to cool the house and water the plants that grew across the exterior. The plants don’t exist today, but Davis and Kreis are trying to restore this feature. The concrete without the plant-like vines is attractive; it’s adorned with gemstones, but it’s not as stunning as the original version. Schuck designed the porches with hollow concrete columns to gather rain water from the roof.
Expecting to live another year, he moved south to Florida with his wife and nine children. Despite his diagnosis, Conrad embarked on building his dream home in 1926. Fortunately, he got to see the project because he lived to the ripe age of 94 and passed away in 1971. Stevie Wonder and wife Tomeeka Robyn Bracy were married in the same area he lives in – Bel-Air. Wonder and third wife Bracy were married at Hotel Bel-Air in 2017, as reported by People. The couple dated for five years before tying the knot and had two children together at the time.
Learning about the Wonder House and its history was presented very well by teacher, owner Krislin. Parking for the tour is located in the rear of the property, accessible via El Paso Trail. Before Cypress Gardens and Walt Disney World Resort, tourists flocked to this one-of-a-kind mansion in the heart of Central Florida.
Lucy DuCharme recently enclosed the front porch, converting it into two large informal living areas plus retaining one as a formal entrance into the house. To hide the electrical wires, Schuck designed a large round concrete post, which stands in the kitchen. Around it, he designed a rotary two tier cabinet, which when turned, opens all its doors at once. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. After his death, the Wonder House passed through the hands of various owners, and a few stages of abandonment. By 2015, it had fallen into a state of disrepair, and its future remained uncertain.
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