The last side adventure on my trip to Denver was to the post rock region near Lucas, KS.
Early settlers used tall, quarried blocks of stone for fence post as trees were few and far between.
Samuel P. Dinsmoor built his home using this stone. Later, he started adding concrete sculptures and called the place "Garden of Eden. He was 64 when he started all this; I'm 63, so it gives me pause and makes me re-think my priorities. Wouldn't it be fun to devote my last years on a large dream on my own property the way this guy did.
He built his house from the local limestone by quarrying out long beams and laying them up like a log cabin. He also built the balcony and all the railings out of concrete.
Here, you can see that he used the dove-tail style of notching. How did a guy, over 64 years old and 5'-2", handle all these heavy stones? He must have built a derrick in the center of the house to lay them up. Many are too heavy for a bunch of guys to have man-handled.
He also built a mausoleum for himself and his wife in a similar style. He lies inside with a glass-topped coffin so that visitors can see him (he died in 1932... and yes, a little worse for wear...).
I paid for the tour and went inside. This was his radio.
He made many of his own furnishings like this chess table...
...and this odd piece.
Outside, there are about 200 concrete sculptures all over the property, like this political commentary about Labor.
There's lots of religious references, too.
Not sure what this is...
...but I know what this is.
A lot of these sculptures had electric lights, so it would have had a visual impact after dark. This was in remote Kansas between 1904 and 1932, so electric lights would have been a new thing.
The main point that really came home to me was how he influenced so many people. Being very eccentric seemed to free up everyone around him. What this picture shows is a large installation of stone objects that a neighbor made. There are "mountains" of stones that were collected all over the U.S as well as carved stone "houses" and replica buildings.
That influence has spread all over the tiny town of Lucas. Here is a giant concrete roll of toilet paper that becomes the sidewalk to lead visitors to...
...an incredibly ornate public bathroom.
Another view.
There's more art everywhere in the town - and I mean EVERYWHERE! ...and it all happened because one guy decided to be different. It was really inspiring to see that Samual Dinsmoor still has an effect almost 100 years later. Art begets Art. It needs a little push to get rolling, but once it gets started, there's no stopping it. If it becomes ok to do something cool, it seems many people will join in.
