Art Environments

"Dreamland at Legat Garden. Boudnek Photo. 58." This "Dreamland" castle was constructed in the 1920s by a man named John Legat as part of a garden in Fox River Grove, Illinois, that also included a wishing well, windmill, and fountain. Legat, who was married to the town's doctor, gave tours of his garden and sold postcard views of it (including, possibly, this one). Legat's land was later turned into building lots, and the garden gave way to a neighborhood of houses. Some of Legat's structures--including the castle--still remain, although they're in a state of disrepair. Check out Google Maps for a current view of the castle, which is located in a front yard at the corner of Grove and Lincoln avenues in Fox River Grove. For additional information, see the article, " Fox River Grove’s Other Castle ," which was originally published in the Northwest Herald , June 7, 2011. (The title of the article refers to another castle that's a full-size residence known as Castle Vianden or Bettendorf Castle; see the Wikipedia entry for Fox River Grove, Illinois , which provides a brief history and photo of this second castle.)

For an enlarged view of the structure , mouse over the image above. I didn't quite know what to make of this snapshot when I purchased it. The photo is dated July 1956 and shows a haphazardly constructed structure of some sort, with discarded tires, odd lengths of wood, and unidentifiable pieces of metal. A strangely shaped homemade bench stands on one side of what looks like an entrance, and a couple of steer skulls stand guard on the other side. I thought that it might be the entrance to a junkyard. A number of handmade signs appear on the structure. One sign warns, "Posted, Keep Out," and right below it is another that says, "Welcome." I spotted yet another sign with a religious message--"Do You Believe in Jesus, Thank You"--and then I noticed a pair of signs that simply say, "Sykes Ranch." Could that be the name of the junkyard? After numerous Google searches, I found a March 3, 2011, blog posting by Vance Lauderdale that described " Stephen Sykes and His 'In-Curiosity' House ." It turns our that the owner of Sykes Ranch was "a remarkable fellow named Stephen Sykes, who constructed an absolutely amazing folk-art house / junk pile / art creation outside Aberdeen, Mississippi, in the 1950s that he called 'In-Curiosity.'" Despite the Sykes Ranch signs in the photo, the structure was referred to as "In-Curiosity" by Sykes or sometimes just "Curiosity" by others, as Lauderdale recounts in his blog posting and in a Very Curious column that he wrote for Memphis Magazine , February 2011. Lauderdale also located an earlier article, " Do It Yourself 'Skyscraper' ," in Ebony magazine, March 1963, pp. 75-78, that described Stephen Sykes as "a 69-year-old bachelor with a driving amibition to rise above his fellow man." Sykes, an African-American veteran of World War I, began building In-Curiosity, which he used as a residence, in the early 1950s on family-owned land located along U.S. Route 45 near Aberdeen, Mississippi. Lauderdale heard that Stephen Sykes passed away sometime in the 1960s, and he assumed that all traces of In-Curiosity vanished when Route 45 was later widened. "But Sykes and his amazing creation," Lauderdale fittingly said, "live on in the memories of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of travelers in this area, and in grainy home movies and snapshots tucked away in boxes and scrapbooks." -------- For additional views of In-Curiosity, photos of Stephen Sykes, and further information regarding the maker and his house, check out Vance Laureldale's writings and the Ebony article: Vance Lauderdale. Very Curious column. Memphis Magazine , February 2011. Vance Lauderdale. " Stephen Sykes and His 'In-Curiosity' House ." Ask Vance , March 3, 2011. " Do It Yourself 'Skyscraper' ." Ebony , March 1963, pp. 75-78.

For information about Sykes Ranch, see the full version of this photo:

A real photo postcard of the tiny buildings in the Miniature City that once stood in Clinch Park near the Lake Michigan shore in Traverse City , Michigan. For some other postcards and photos, see my gallery of Miniature City, Clinch Park, Traverse City, Michigan images.

I'm not sure what to make of this scene. A man and woman are posing with three sculptural pieces in the shapes of a boy, a woman, and a man. The sign above the boy says, "Hey, mom, is that guy Rip Van Winkle?" The mom replies, according to the second sign, "Yeah, and look at his wrinkled wink." Unfortunately, the third sign is only partially visibile, and I can't determine what it says. The guy with the wrinkled wink who turned out to be Rip Van Winkle is reading a book entitled Love Stories , and the cover of the book also says, "For the love of Mike." Inscribed on part of the stump just below Rip is the name "Ben Funk." Does any of this ring a bell with anyone?

"Brown Village" is the caption on this real photo postcard signed by "Frazer," but I haven't been able to figure out who constructed this miniature village, where it was located, and whether the buildings in it correspond to those in an actual town somewhere in the United States. Mouse over the image to see a close-up of part of the village . The buildings, some of which are labeled, include a "Cudahy Packing Co., U.S.A." plant, water mill, church, "General Store," "Hotel," "Village School," and "Black Smith" shop. The initials "TVB" appear on a water tank above the Cudahy Packing Company, and a small sign next to the plant says, "Please Do Not Touch." Unfortunately, I haven't been able to determine what TVB stands for, nor have I been able to match the miniature Cudahy company building with a specific location (according to Wikipedia, the Cudahy Packing Company operated in over 97 U.S. cities by 1922). So until additional information comes to light, Brown Village will have to remain hidden somewhere in the twilight of some unknown zone.

See also the full version of this real photo postcard.