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Wonder House

Bartow, Polk County
BUILT BY ONE PERSON · RUIN
9STRANGENESS
OUT OF TEN

WHAT IT IS

A concrete house begun in 1926 with secret passages, a moat, and a cooling system decades ahead of itself.

Conrad Schuck fell into a sinkhole, decided it was a sign, and spent the rest of his life building a house on the spot out of hand-poured concrete. It has hidden rooms, tunnels, coloured glass set into the floors, and a passive cooling system that worked. He never finished it. It spent decades derelict and semi-legendary among trespassers; new owners have been slowly stabilising it and occasionally open the doors.

HOW IT SCORES

Rarity9/10
Is there anywhere else like it?
Backstory10/10
How did this come to be?
Disrepair9/10
What is holding it together?
Commitment8/10
How far do they take the bit?

NEARBY

BEFORE YOU DRIVE

ENTRY FEE
Tours by arrangement
HOURS
Limited; check ahead
BEST TIME
Whenever they will let you in.
HOW LONG
1 hour
PARKING
Street
PAYMENT
Cash
ACCESS
Stairs, tunnels, uneven concrete
COORDINATES
27.8797° N, 81.8433° W

1075 Mann Road, Bartow. Do not turn up unannounced.

OPEN IN MAPS →
DETAILS COMPILED FROM PUBLISHED SOURCES. FEES CHANGE. CALL AHEAD.