The Big Treehouse

The Big Treehouse is a 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) tree house begun by a college student in 1983 at the Shady Oaks Campground outside Marshalltown, Iowa. It is a tourist attraction that has been enlarged and made more elaborate over the years.

Description

The Big Treehouse covers 5,000 square feet and has 12 levels that go up to five and a half stories tall.[1] The first 11 levels can be traversed via a 60-step spiral staircase, while a ladder is needed to ascend to the final level.[1][2] Various levels have tables, birdwatching, meditation facilities, and views.[3] It has electrical and telephone service, as well as several porch swings, and a microwave oven. It also includes a 50-foot (15 m) long flower box, rope lights, and a grill.[1] There are models of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway bridge[4] and the Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge[5] that can both be crossed by visitors.[6][2] A skyway, styled "Skywalk 2000", winds around the tenth level, the spiral staircase, and the model of the Rainbow Bridge.[6]

History

Michael Jurgensen, whose family owns the Shady Oak Campground,[7] first conceived the project while a college student in spring 1983.[1] He had six pallets of wood sent to Shady Oak Campground[3] and started building by the side of a maple tree. By summer 1983 the first floor and part of the second floor was complete.[1] He makes new additions each year.[3]

In the media

The tree house was featured during two of the half-hour anthology episodes of Iowa Public Television's series Iowa's Simple Pleasures – "Canoeing, Howell's Florals & Greenhouse, The Big Treehouse, Cedar Rapids Kernels" (S1Ep2) and "Excellent Exhibitions" (S3Ep7).[8] Eric Dregni, in his 2006 book Midwest Marvels, wrote that "The Swiss Family Robinson could only dream of all the amenities in Jurgensen's never-ending treehouse".[1]

References
  1. Dregni, Eric (2006). Midwest Marvels. University of Minnesota Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780816642908.
  2. "Treehouse Times" (PDF). Official website. 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  3. "Big Treehouse Result of 20-year Hobby". Farm Show Magazine. 2002. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  4. "Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad – A Capsule History". Chicago & North Western Historical Society. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  5. "Photographs Historical and Descriptive Data" (PDF). Library of Congress. October 1988. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  6. Stapleton, Susan (August 24, 2016). "Eight hidden treasures you can only find in Iowa". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  7. Pohlen, Jerome (2005). Oddball Iowa: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places. Chicago Review Press. p. 87. ISBN 1569764689.
  8. "Iowa's Simple Pleasures". Iowa Public Television. Archived from the original on 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-05-05.

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