[UA] The UAest Place On Earth (or, at least, Colorado)

[Kevin Mowery]

Kevin Mowery_____________ kemowery at earthlink.net
Mad science comics updated daily at www.narbonic.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stuart Anderson" <stuartanderson at qwest.net>
To: <ua at lists.uchicago.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2001 1:07 PM
Subject: Re: [UA] The UAest Place On Earth (or, at least, Colorado)


> holycrow at mindspring.com wrote:
>
> > Now, the idea of someone making a castle in the middle of Colorado is
pretty UA on its own.  Mr. Bishop's nigh-incessant feuding with the county
officials about his castle adds a further UA twang.  But to me, what really
makes this place UAble is that it is so much an expression of one man's
obsession.  For thirty years he has built this unplanned monstrosity, simply
because He Wills It.  That's gotta be good for some gaming.
>
> At least one of his sons has died helping him. It's creepy as hell.
> I love to pull for the underdog and I love to find nobility in
inexplicable obsessions. But shit, man--the place just creeped me out. I got
none of that. It is a completely UAble site.  I think Rp's mentioned it.

Bishop's Castle is featured in the book "Roadside America" (and is probably
also on the website: www.roadsideamerica.com), along with several other
instances of people who just up and decided to build colossal stuff.
There's also Soloman's Castle in a Florida swamp, created when the owner of
the land discovered the land wouldn't support a big horizontal building--so
he built *up*.

Also, Donna Kossy's wonderful book "Kooks" has more on people with this
obsession.

Coral Castle in Homestead, FL is probably also heavily UA-able.  Here's the
basics: Latvian guy's fiancee breaks off their engagement on the eve of the
wedding.  He emigrates to America and starts work on a tribute to her.  The
100 pound man, working by himself and at night, carves and entire castle,
including furniture, out of hard coral.  Some of the blocks used in the
construction of the castle weigh 25 tons.




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