SPACES Archives

10/02/2026

Some places are so improbable they almost feel impossible. Coral Castle is one of them.

After a broken engagement, Ed Leedskalnin left his home in Latvia and eventually settled in South Florida, where he began building what would become Coral Castle.

Working mostly at night, he carved massive blocks of oolitic limestone using hand tools, without heavy machinery or outside crews. Over nearly three decades, he created towering walls, sculptures, furniture, and intricate architectural features.

His methods became the subject of endless speculation, but Leedskalnin insisted his understanding of stone and engineering was enough. He rarely explained how he moved the enormous blocks.

After his death in 1951, Coral Castle was preserved and later added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, you can still walk through the remarkable environment he built by hand. Open daily from 9 a.m.–8 p.m.

Learn more → https://coralcastle.com/

Image: Coral Castle (site view, 2016.), Homestead, FL. Photo: Billy Reed, courtesy of SPACES Archives at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, gift of SPACES and Kohler Foundation.

09/24/2026

Featured on CBS News!

For more than 35 years, artist Ricky Boscarino has transformed his New Jersey home into Ricky Boscarino's Luna Parc , an ever-evolving artist-built environment filled with sculpture, mosaics, ceramics, kinetic art, and unexpected details.

CBS News takes us inside Luna Parc, exploring the home, studio, and creative world Boscarino has built over decades.

✨ Watch the full story from CBS News and explore Luna Parc: www.cbsnews.com/video/luna-parc-a-home-and-an-eclectic-canvas/

For more than 35 years, artist Ricky Boscarino has turned his house in Sandyston, N.J., and its 8.5 acres into an eye-popping gallery filled with sculptures, ceramics, mosaics and whimsy. Correspondent Serena Altschul pays a visit to Boscarino's quirky home, dubbed Luna Parc, and his outdoor "electr...

09/16/2026

After a protracted legal battle with Marin County, David Lee Hoffman has been evicted from his environment THE LAST RESORT - Lagunitas.

David Lee Hoffman stood on his property in the West Marin County town of Lagunitas where he’s lived for 53 years, surrounded by the exotic temples and caves he’s constructed over the decades — getting ready to say goodbye to it all. http://nbcbay.com/5x6JiQ3

09/11/2026

Tucked between the wooded bluffs and the Mississippi River in Cochrane, Wisconsin, Prairie Moon began as a roadside museum created by retired farmer Herman Rusch. When he noticed the grounds lacked character, Rusch built a simple concrete planter in the late 1950s—an effort that sparked a lifelong passion for sculpture.

Rusch transformed the landscape into a remarkable outdoor art environment filled with nearly forty handcrafted works. Using concrete, locally quarried stone, shells, glass, mirrors, and found materials, he created towers, fountains, architectural forms, and imaginative sculptures that reflected his dedication to craftsmanship and creativity.

Over several decades, Rusch shaped the garden through careful construction, strong engineering, and an artist’s eye for detail. His work became a testament to what one person could create through persistence, curiosity, and skill.

In 1992, the Kohler Foundation restored Prairie Moon, preserving Rusch’s vision and reopening the site as a public art destination. Today, visitors can explore his sculptures alongside additional works by other self-taught artists. One of Rusch's works is on view at the Art Preserve, offering another opportunity to experience his remarkable artistic legacy.

Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden remains a remarkable example of Wisconsin’s roadside art heritage—a place where one farmer’s simple idea grew into an extraordinary landscape of imagination.

Learn more → www.spacesarchives.org

Image: Herman Rusch, Prairie Moon (site view, 1973), Cochrane, WI. Photo: Seymour Rosen, SPACES Collection at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, gift of SPACES and Kohler Foundation, Inc.

09/04/2026

Some journeys leave their mark on every place they pass through.

Around 1878, Ernest Hüpeden left Germany and immigrated to the United States in search of a new beginning. Over the next two decades, he traveled on foot from New York to Wisconsin, trading his paintings for food and a place to sleep.

Along the way, Hüpeden captured scenes of American life that reflected the hopes, values, and everyday experiences of the people he met.

His most extraordinary achievement came in the small town of Valton, Wisconsin, where he transformed an entire fraternal meeting hall into what is now known as The Painted Forest. Between 1897 and 1899, Hüpeden covered nearly every surface with murals, painting the walls, arched ceiling, window frames, wainscoting, and even the windows themselves.

The immersive murals offered members of the Modern Woodmen Association a symbolic vision of community, belonging, and protection. Today, The Painted Forest remains one of Wisconsin's most remarkable historic art environments. Additional works by Hüpeden are also on view at the Art Preserve, providing another opportunity to experience his distinctive artistic vision.

Learn more → www.spacesarchives.org.

Image: Ernest Hupeden, The Painted Forest (site view, 1982), Valton, WI. Photo: Mike McGinnis, courtesy of SPACES Archives at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, gift of SPACES and Kohler Foundation, Inc.

08/28/2026

Some places are built to be seen. Others are built to express a way of life.

In 1886, Paul and Matilda Wegner immigrated from Germany to Wisconsin in search of a new beginning. They carried with them a deep commitment to peace, religious unity, and the freedom to live according to their beliefs.

After visiting the Dickeyville Grotto in 1929, the couple returned home inspired to transform their farm into an extraordinary environment of embellished concrete, glass, shells, and found objects.

Over the following years, they created winding fences, symbolic sculptures, a Peace Monument, and the remarkable Glass Church. Every surface sparkled with colorful mosaics, while messages like "For Peace on Earth" and "One God One Brotherhood" reflected the values that guided their lives.

More than a garden, the Wegner Grotto became a place for gathering, reflection, and conversation. On Sundays, visitors came to hear speeches, attend weddings, and experience a space where art, faith, and community came together.

Today, the Paul and Matilda Wegner Grotto remains one of Wisconsin's most extraordinary art environments and a lasting testament to the power of creativity, conviction, and hope.

Learn more → www.spacesarchives.org.

Image:
The Paul and Matilda Wegner Grotto (site view, n.d.), Cataract, WI, c. 1929–1942. Photo: Roger Brown, Roger Brown Study Collection at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, gift of Kohler Foundation Inc.

08/21/2026

Some backyards tell a story. Nick Engelbert turned his into one.

Born in Central Europe in 1881, Engelbert spent years traveling the world as a machinist, sailor, soldier, engineer, and laborer before settling with his wife, Katherine, on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin.

Inspired by a visit to the Dickeyville Grotto, Engelbert began transforming his home into an extraordinary sculpture environment he called Grandview.

Over the next fifteen years, he created more than 40 concrete sculptures that blended history, mythology, folklore, and humor. Uncle Sam stood beside an elephant and a donkey. Paul Bunyan towered over Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Neptune, mermaids, Vikings, and fairy tale characters shared the landscape with monuments celebrating immigrants and American democracy.

Together, Nick and Katherine welcomed visitors with lush gardens, picnic areas, and sculptures that reflected their appreciation for community, creativity, and their adopted home. Every summer, Katherine planted flowers that spelled out one simple word: PEACE.

Today, Grandview remains one of Wisconsin's most imaginative art environments, where art, storytelling, and landscape come together in unexpected ways. Several of Engelbert's original works are also on view at the Art Preserve in Sheboygan, WI, offering another opportunity to experience his remarkable artistic legacy.

Learn more → www.spacesarchives.org.

Image: Nick Engelbert, Grandview (site view, 2004), Hollandale, WI. Photo: Kelly Ludwig, SPACES Collection at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, gift of SPACES and Kohler Foundation, Inc.

07/13/2026

The Watts Towers have been recognized by World Monuments Fund as one of just ten sites selected for Irreplaceable America, a special initiative highlighting places that reflect the range of the American experience and demonstrate how heritage can shape the nation’s future.

Built by hand over three decades by artist Sabato “Simon” Rodia, the Watts Towers stand as a powerful symbol of creativity, resilience, and community in South Los Angeles.

Learn more about the Irreplaceable America initiative: www.wmf.org/irreplaceable-america

Image: The Watts Towers were constructed entirely by hand by Simon Rodia. Photo credit: Adobe Photostock.

06/25/2026

Congratulations to former SPACES Director and Curator Jo Farb Hernández on the publication of Architectural Fantasies: Artist-Built Environments.

Drawing on decades of research and fieldwork, Hernández documents more than 60 artist-built sites across the United States, highlighting the work of self-taught creators whose environments expand our understanding of architecture, place, and creative expression.

Hernández led SPACES from 2006–2019 and was named Director/Curator Emerita in 2019. We're grateful for her prior stewardship of SPACES and pleased to see her latest contribution to the field bring greater attention to these remarkable sites and the individuals who built them.

Published by Tra Publishing, Architectural Fantasies: Artist-Built Environments is available now.

From Miami’s Coral Castle to LA’s Watts Towers, Architectural Fantasies explores over 60 dwellings across more than 30 states. These artist-built spaces allow one to step directly into the artwork, and range from scratch-built creations and modified structures to monuments, sites of devotion, an...

05/07/2026

📢 New blog alert!

What happens when an art environment disappears—but its story refuses to fade? "The Ghosts of Melrose Ave" by Jennifer Jameson Merchant explores the legacy of Milt Hopkins’ once-enchanted Castle of Enchantment through a new short film by Weston Lyon and Karolina Lavergne. Blurring fact and fiction, the filmmakers trace memory, myth, and the afterlife of creative work on a now-empty Los Angeles lot.

Dive into the interview and discover how this lost castle still inspires new worlds:
https://ow.ly/Ajjw50YWevy.

Photo: Seymour Rosen, 1969. ©SPACES—Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments.