S. P. Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden — Attraction in Lucas

My brother and I visited the Garden of Eden on November 11th, 2023 while we were spending a few days in Kansas and Missouri. We'd heard about this place from Mr. Beat's YouTube video, and as one can guess from the rating, we enjoyed ourselves while there.

To start, we got there at just a little before 3 PM. We were the only visitors for the whole day. Lynn, the tour guide, was outside, and she guided us inside where we paid the fare and got the tour. Dinsmoor was a very eccentric man - in fact, calling him eccentric seems to sell him short - but Lynn did a wonderful job with explaining the place, lining up with and enriching the content that Mr. Beat had posted before. Some parts of the tour were quite autonomous; we were allowed to see the upstairs and downstairs parts of the house on our own terms (again, this might have been because we were the only ones there besides Lynn and a younger volunteer). Lynn took us outside to show us the sculptures including the famous 'Crucifixion of Labor' and more. We also got to see Dinsmoor's mausoleum where he is very much decomposing in his coffin with a glass lid (of note, this is the only area of the park where photography is forbidden), the pavilion in the back, and everything else. History buffs, art enthusiasts, and just tourists in general will love this place.

There is a small gift shop at the entrance that has items including lapel pins, post cards, and a little guidebook. There are bathrooms on site as well; they are located behind the house. I was so happy to have seen this place. Bravo, Lynn, and thank you to Mr. Beat for putting this place on our radar. My brother and I spent just about an hour at the place. It is possible to get the entire experience in as little as ~40 minutes, but of course, if you have the time, more of it is...

In the interview novel, "American Gods", author Neil Gaiman writes about places of power.

"It's perfectly simple," said Wednesday. "In other countries, over the years, people recognized the places of power. Sometimes it would be a natural formation, sometimes it would just be a place that was, somehow, special. They knew that something important was happening there, that there was some focusing point, some channel, some window to the Immanent. And so they would build temples or cathedrals, or erect stone circles, or...well, you get the idea."

The Garden of Eden is such a place. Here, artist S. P. Dinsmoor constructed a fantastic monument to mid-American Populism using the creation story as a framing device. The sense of mystery and energy pervades the town this sculpture park is in, Lucas, Kansas. Numerous grassroots artists are drawn here to add to the creativity that has buzzed in the air of the land, probably long before Dinsmoor mixed his first batch of concrete.

The guided tour is thorough and engaging, and the guide gave us warning before showing us into Dinsmoor's mausoleum. His body lies in state, and with a glass top, i was drawn face to face with the 91-year mummified remains of one of the most curious artists I've ever learned of. A strange thing to behold in such a strange place.

The many sculptures of his are both simple yet clear and honest about the urge to create and the urge to tell the world of things important to the artist.

If you're remotely within driving distance as you cross Kansas, do not pass up the opportunity to visit this strange place of power and see a very unfiltered and bold...

I have been meaning to write a review for this for a while now! Had an incredible time there this summer, beautiful sculptures especially when you go as an artist with his art major father. Learning from all of the nice tour guides was an incredible experience and walking through the house felt like walking through a large time capsule. The art outside and story behind each sculpture is fascinating, and even learning about S.P. Dinsmoor's mausoleum and coffin that he created himself and then, of course, going inside and seeing the man himself preserved in a glass case! Very worth the trip. We took this road trip to Lucas Kansas just to see the Garden of Eden, and it did...