House tours a fascinating glimpse into glamorous past

I love houses. I must have owned 10 in my life and I hope there are more to come. I like buying them -- seeing the possibilities, fixing them up, working on the garden, living in them and even selling them.

On a recent vacation, my husband and I took a spur-of-the-moment road trip to Wisconsin, his native state. I picked out all the places I wanted to go based on his Wisconsin memories and at the end, I realized that the tour I created was basically a house tour.

First we went to Ten Chimneys, the home of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Genesee Depot. Lunt and Fontanne were leading lights on Broadway in the 1930s, but Lunt was from Wisconsin and loved the landscape of the kettle moraine. The 60-acre estate was the anchor of their lives and while they loved the theater world, Ten Chimneys was their chosen life set.

The home has an intimate "lived in" feeling so rarely found in public buildings. Lunt and Fontanne were friends with the likes of Noel Coward, Helen Hayes and other contemporary Broadway stars. It's a glimpse of a different time, but also a close-up of glittery people we've all heard of.

Taliesin was architect Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Spring Green. He built it over a period of time trying out his architectural ideas in his own living space. This effort was expedited by fires and other calamitous events that necessitated rebuilding. Like Lunt, Wright had fond childhood memories of Wisconsin. His grandparents had settled in the area in the mid-1890s on land that reminded them of their Welsh homeland. In fact the word, "taliesin" is a Welsh word meaning "shining brow."

The Taliesin estate includes a number of structures on 600 acres. Wright originally acquired the land and built the home to escape the bad public feeling for his sudden leaving of his first wife in Oak Park.

Our tour guide told us about the architectural school Wright established, based on his strongly held belief that architects learn best by a long apprenticeship. More recently the school, which continues, has sought accreditation.

Wright certainly believed in himself and his capabilities. If nature didn't supply what he needed, he improved on nature.

For example, that actual "shining brow" was not exactly in the right place vis-a-vis the house after it was built, so Wright just got bulldozers and built a new "shining brow" closer to the house where it needed to be for entertaining. Wright's vision of organic architecture and his sense of style were certainly revolutionary, and still remains fresh. The fascinating glimpses into Wright as a man heightened my interest but made me smile, too, at his hubris.

Finally we visited the House on the Rock, the grand vision of Alex Jordan, a reclusive and eccentric man interested in architecture and electronic gadgets. Jordan built his house, an illusive retreat atop the 45-foot-tall Deer Shelter Rock, also in Spring Green.

You have a choice of two types of tours: one of the house and the others for exhibits focusing on mechanical musical instruments, the circus, dolls and toys and other eclectic collectibles. The exhibits are extensive and take hours to even walk through them.

When you tour, do some research before you get behind the wheel or hop on a plane. As pleased as we were with our Wisconsin tour, it could have been even better with a little prep. Your library is a rich resource for guidebooks, biographies and maps, as well as Internet access for additional travel information.