The Depression House

On the first day of vacation, Daimon and I visited the ruins of the Depression House, or Palace of Depression, in Vineland, NJ.  We assumed there would be visible  no trespassing signs and expected a brief trip to get a few shots with the camera.  To our surprise a man was there, working brick by brick on what looked like a castle foundation, smoking a cigarette with his bare back turning tomato red in the sun.  We approached him to ask what he was up to, and he immediately invited us to sit down so he could tell the long story of how the Depression House came to be. It is alternately known as the strangest house in the world.

Jeff Tirante, who gave us the tour and is rebuilding the palace almost single handedly, has been involved in the arts in Philadelphia for most of his life, and is familiar with Isaiah Zagar of the Magic Gardens, which I blogged about here.  Supposedly the Magic Gardens were inspired by the palace when it was still standing.

Jeff lives on the bottom floor of the palace, and is also known as the "Jersey Devil" of Vineland.  Local police officers call him JD. This is what was on his bedroom door... yes, we were able to tour his living space.

It comes equipped with a Jersey Devil fireplace. 

George Daynor built the original pastel-colored Palace in the middle of a south jersey swamp, with only $4 to his name. He made his fortune when he discovered gold out west and lost nearly all his money in the stock market crash.  Daynor was one strange bird; he boasted that his castle had bizarre attractions- such as dropping a hammer or bowling ball on your head in a specified room if you wanted to rid yourself of bad memories.

The original round ticket booth is still there. and so is JD's cute cat that walks the grounds.

Jeff and his partner spearheaded the effort to rebuild and restore the palace, to bring tourism to the area but also pay homage to the man who was told by angels nearly 100 years ago to build the Depression House in the swamp. There's more information and the address to the Palace on the Roadamerica.com  website, or check out their progress in restoring the palace here.