Wonder House — Attraction in Bartow

I was amazed, this is in the top of the list of the best things I have ever seen. In the 1930’s this was the number one tour attraction to see in Florida. The pictures on the internet do not even come close to the beautiful workman ship in this house. The man who designed and built this house was a century or more ahead of his time. His attention to detail and engineering was both gifted and meticulous. The entire house, even the 22-foot basement was built by hand. All the beautiful mosaics were laid by hand by him and his family. The house has a beautiful mote, a self-watering system for the vines that use to cover the house, a geo-thermal cooling system. He has a swimming pool on the 2nd floor. These are just a few of the magnificent engineering and inventions he built into the home. To further shock you, he only had a few years in grade school. The new owners are restoring this beautiful home. They have completed a little over 60% of the inside. Drew provides an exceptional tour with the amazing details, inventions and beauty of the house. They have pictures when the house was originally built and other interesting details about the original owners and the house. The pictures from the 1930’s are GORGEOUS. If you have an opportunity to see this beautiful workmanship it’s an easy drive to Bartow. Maybe in the future this will once again be one of the top things to see in Florida, I thought it was just amazing how far ahead of his time he was when he built the home and what a beautiful...

Fantastic tour of an incredibly intricate house that legitimately does wonder those who visit it. The owners are obviously passionate for it's history and have done a fantastic job at restoring it thus far. I hope to see their progress in the coming years! It's very impressive what they've accomplished with the short time they've been working on the house with their limited budget. They really deserve more!!

Also, for the specific special event I attended, Krislin made some fantastic desserts that alone are worth mentioning. The semla was hands down my favorite! Look out for those special events as the extra price of admission is well worth the desserts.

Really and truly the tour feels like it didn't waste a minute even though we technically went overtime. The host is incredibly engaging and his energy that he gives to the tour is top notch. Will definitely return in the near future despite the drive!

Oh, and for those that want to visit, the parking is down an obscure side road, but do not let that discourage you. It is well worth the visit, just keep in mind it's on a single...

It seems someone gave this a bad review because the new owners have gated it off and they can no longer trespass on abandoned property. It’s the new owners personal home so I don’t blame them. My mom and I took the tour yesterday and it’s absolutely clear the new owners that saved this amazing house from eventual demolition are obsessed — in a good way. They have literally devoted their life to saving this place (a VERY large commitment) and their enthusiasm for it is infectious. The love the owner/tour guide has for the home and the very extensive work and research he and his wife have done had my mom and I hanging on his every word. You can tell he could probably talk much longer than the allotted 1.5 hr tour. He goes into great detail about inventions in the home that were original concepts for every day items we use today and the love and abuse the home has endured in the last century. Seriously the best $25 I’ve spent all year. My mom and I left with huge smiles and talked about the tour the whole ride home. I will definitely be back...