Jab blows into Chicago and points north - 4/9/05-4/17/05 - Other Events

I ikitnrev Tiki Socialite D.C. / Virginia Joined: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1325	I ikitnrev Posted posted on Thu, May 5, 2005 5:14 PM Grotto Gardens and Wonder Cave, Rudolph, WI. A religious shrine and grotto built from the 1920's into the 1950s. It was closed for the season so I couldn't go into the cave or see Wisconsin in miniature. I finally got around to reading this thread, and was quite surprised to find pictures of the Rudolph Grotto there. Thanks for showing them! I grew up on a farm located just 7 miles from the Grotto, and know the town of Rudolph pretty well. Growing up I took it all for granted, and now I realize what a treasure the Grotto is. The 'Wisconsin in Miniature' scene is pretty neat - definitely WW2 vintage, with toy soldiers marching, and lots of other items whose scale does not quite conform or match properly. There used to be a small church right next to the Miniature Display that you could insert a coin and it would light up inside. That church is now located inside the nearby museum, which I was quite impressed with. They have a display of old carnival game equipment (solid white milk bottles to knock over, dart boards, bingo equipment, fishing poles to 'throw the hook over the curtain and catch a prize')- and all of this stuff looked pretty old. They also had lots of vintage religous souvenirs and displays of old church stuff - even empty vintage gallon jugs of church wine. The Wonder Cave is pretty neat, and I can remember how much fun we had as kids running through the place. The pedestrian path in the cave is actually multi-tiered with lots of steps, and you really lose all sense of where you are inside. Rudolph also has a top-notch award winning cheese factory, a small market/butcher shop that makes some of the best summer sausage- and even a bowling alley - not bad for a town that has less than 500 people. It was nice to see the pictures of the Herschlebs diner (great ice cream) in my hometown, Wisconsin Rapids too. Growing up, I remember no tiki presence at all in this area, so I was quite shocked to see all of those pictures on Tiki Central. I'm heading into Wisconsin after the Chicago Exotica event for another week of roadside tourist activity, so I will likely be visiting the Rudolph Grotto again then. Vern

Grotto Gardens and Wonder Cave, Rudolph, WI. A religious shrine and grotto built from the 1920's into the 1950s. It was closed for the season so I couldn't go into the cave or see Wisconsin in miniature.

I finally got around to reading this thread, and was quite surprised to find pictures of the Rudolph Grotto there. Thanks for showing them! I grew up on a farm located just 7 miles from the Grotto, and know the town of Rudolph pretty well. Growing up I took it all for granted, and now I realize what a treasure the Grotto is.

The 'Wisconsin in Miniature' scene is pretty neat - definitely WW2 vintage, with toy soldiers marching, and lots of other items whose scale does not quite conform or match properly. There used to be a small church right next to the Miniature Display that you could insert a coin and it would light up inside. That church is now located inside the nearby museum, which I was quite impressed with. They have a display of old carnival game equipment (solid white milk bottles to knock over, dart boards, bingo equipment, fishing poles to 'throw the hook over the curtain and catch a prize')- and all of this stuff looked pretty old. They also had lots of vintage religous souvenirs and displays of old church stuff - even empty vintage gallon jugs of church wine.

The Wonder Cave is pretty neat, and I can remember how much fun we had as kids running through the place. The pedestrian path in the cave is actually multi-tiered with lots of steps, and you really lose all sense of where you are inside.

Rudolph also has a top-notch award winning cheese factory, a small market/butcher shop that makes some of the best summer sausage- and even a bowling alley - not bad for a town that has less than 500 people.

It was nice to see the pictures of the Herschlebs diner (great ice cream) in my hometown, Wisconsin Rapids too. Growing up, I remember no tiki presence at all in this area, so I was quite shocked to see all of those pictures on Tiki Central.

I'm heading into Wisconsin after the Chicago Exotica event for another week of roadside tourist activity, so I will likely be visiting the Rudolph Grotto again then.

Vern

Post #156901 by ikitnrev on Thu, May 5, 2005 5:14 PM