The Big Treehouse
The Big Treehouse is a 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) tree house begun by a college student in 1983 at the Shady Oaks Campground outside Marshalltown, Iowa. It is a tourist attraction that has been enlarged and made more elaborate over the years.
Description
[edit]The Big Treehouse covers 5,000 square feet and has 12 levels that go up to five and a half stories tall.[1] The first 11 levels can be traversed via a 60-step spiral staircase, while a ladder is needed to ascend to the final level.[1][2] Various levels have tables, birdwatching, meditation facilities, and views.[3] It has electrical and telephone service, as well as several porch swings, and a microwave oven. It also includes a 50-foot (15 m) long flower box, rope lights, and a grill.[1] There are models of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway bridge[4] and the Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge[5] that can both be crossed by visitors.[6][2] A skyway, styled "Skywalk 2000", winds around the tenth level, the spiral staircase, and the model of the Rainbow Bridge.[6]
History
[edit]Michael Jurgensen, whose family owns the Shady Oak Campground,[7] first conceived the project while a college student in spring 1983.[1] He had six pallets of wood sent to Shady Oak Campground[3] and started building by the side of a maple tree. By summer 1983 the first floor and part of the second floor was complete.[1] He makes new additions each year.[3]
In the media
[edit]The tree house was featured during two of the half-hour anthology episodes of Iowa Public Television's series Iowa's Simple Pleasures – "Canoeing, Howell's Florals & Greenhouse, The Big Treehouse, Cedar Rapids Kernels" (S1Ep2) and "Excellent Exhibitions" (S3Ep7).[8] Eric Dregni, in his 2006 book Midwest Marvels, wrote that "The Swiss Family Robinson could only dream of all the amenities in Jurgensen's never-ending treehouse".[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Dregni, Eric (2006). Midwest Marvels. University of Minnesota Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780816642908.
- ^ a b "Treehouse Times" (PDF). Official website. 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Big Treehouse Result of 20-year Hobby". Farm Show Magazine. 2002. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad – A Capsule History". Chicago & North Western Historical Society. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
- ^ "Photographs Historical and Descriptive Data" (PDF). Library of Congress. October 1988. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
- ^ a b Stapleton, Susan (August 24, 2016). "Eight hidden treasures you can only find in Iowa". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ Pohlen, Jerome (2005). Oddball Iowa: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places. Chicago Review Press. p. 87. ISBN 1569764689.
- ^ "Iowa's Simple Pleasures". Iowa Public Television. Archived from the original on 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-05-05.