The Big Treehouse is a

tree house A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a han ...

begun by a college student in 1983 at the Shady Oaks Campground outside

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

. 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. The first 11 levels can be traversed via a 60-step

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

, while a ladder is needed to ascend to the final level. Various levels have tables,

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

facilities, and views. It has electrical and telephone service, as well as several porch swings, and a microwave oven. It also includes a long flower box, rope lights, and a grill. There are models of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway bridge and the Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge that can both be crossed by visitors. A

skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...

, styled "Skywalk 2000", winds around the tenth level, the spiral staircase, and the model of the Rainbow Bridge.

History

Michael Jurgensen, whose family owns the Shady Oak Campground, first conceived the project while a college student in spring 1983. He had six pallets of wood sent to Shady Oak Campground and started building by the side of a

maple tree ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

. By summer 1983 the first floor and part of the second floor was complete. He makes new additions each year.

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).

Eric Dregni Eric Dregni is an American author. He is an associate professor of English and Journalism at Concordia University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he teaches writing. He has written or cowritten travel memoirs and essays about Minnesota, Norway, ...

, in his 2006 book ''Midwest Marvels'', wrote that "

The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwreck ...

could only dream of all the amenities in Jurgensen's never-ending treehouse".

References

External links

The Big Treehouse
{{coord, 42.0119, -92.8537, type:landmark_region:US-IA, display=title Buildings and structures in Marshalltown, Iowa Houses in Marshall County, Iowa Tourist attractions in Marshall County, Iowa 1983 establishments in Iowa