I am seasick from the bobbing up and down of the photos.

All I could think of was how filthy all of those interior rock walls would get after a while, and how would you clean them? Are there drains in floors for hosing them down?

And that kitchen, so frosted with ornate trim, with a giant black hole of a TV in the corner with assorted cords and wires dangling. And lovely gold-edge-banded two-tone Corian counters. And a water bubbler.

Every house be staged with a tiger-woman painting in the den, and lady-in-garter-belt over the the dining table.

The exterior looks like a new Epcot Destination.

I think it will sit on the market. $2.25 million is too lowball for what you'd have to pay a buyer to take it.

Oh my. It looks like the love child of Hearst's San Simeon and the Madonna Inn....

On the link below, put your mouse on the blue room name to see a picture. Each room is unique :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Madonna Inn rooms

"The exterior looks like a new Epcot Destination."

Yes: Terrifying Island of the Nouveau Riche.

No history on it. I went to grad school in Indiana, so a friend who lives in Indy sent it to me. Although if you click on "property info" when you get to the link, it gives a pretty funny description of the property. I think they were being serious when they said, "one cannot even begin to describe".

Anna,
When I saw the rock walls, Madonna Inn was the first thing I thought of. Have you been in the mens bathroom?

http://www.kesslermansion.com/about/

Someone sure loved mirrors, stone walls and textured ceilings! Makes me love my (tiny in comparison!) house just a little bit more ...

My immediate reaction? The sixties must have been really good for whoever designed this house. A few two many trips without leaving home, if you know what I mean.

ayerg73 - yes, what is up with those ceilings? I spotted the extension cord around the dolphin's tail, too. Horrors, do you suppose it lights up at night? Maybe spins and plays tunes, too?

And what's up with all the statues around the house, plopped down with no rhyme or reason. Kinda creepy. 'Course my reaction could be influenced by Dr. Who's Weeping Angels episodes.

Anyone else spot the Las Vegas sign in the garage? Perfect signage for this house!

I believe that is the ugliest thing I have ever seen in my life. Let this be a warning for those who coo "it's your home, do what you love". This person (sorry, had to be a guy) had a vision and it was pretty consistent. Rock rococo. And it is disturbing.

I want to know why a schoolbus was there.

Poland spring needs to start offering a baroque bubbler.

And why he wants all those windows when every vista I saw sucked.

This will sell for the cost of comparable lots less demo and removal.

fyi

Here is a link that might be useful: gotta see this slideshow

I guess Fred & Wilma turned a profit when they sold to Dick Clarke so they decided to 'modernize' their new place?

Nothing like an informal family room/kitchen. The bedroom might be cosier with a small rug though.

...and to think I always wanted a wrap-around porch.

Madonna Inn - people stay there? & pay to do it?? the pics on the home page make it look almost nice.

Thanks, Gigi_4321!

Text from the link:

"Kessler Mansion is a former HGTV extreme home and been under renovation for the past 6 years. With updated amenities and unique features that include quartz walls, various size windows, floating staircases and creative ceiling textures, the estate caters to various groups. Centrally located and within 15 minutes downtown, 10 minutes to fairgrounds and 5 minutes to Broadripple, Kessler Mansion can cater from 2 to 2000 people. Visiting accommodations , hosting an event or wedding or looking for longer term for you and your family, we have the facility. The estate consists of 26,000 total sq. ft with 3 large buildings, pool house and a cozy and classy apartment. Truly one of the Midwest most unique homes, we are for the first time opening up the estate for leasing. The facility is monitored by state of the art wireless security systems along with remote video surveillance for your protection. Strict guidelines and rules apply."

Maybe it was a field trip? Bet they loved the stripper poster.

It says on their website

"We offer travel and food services, caterings and event production along with misc. other services to make your visit a memorable experience. Need something in the frig before arrive, lets us know�"

Not sure what "other services" they offer, but probably not proofreading.

LOL mtnrdredux!

Being an Indy native myself, I've heard all sorts of stories about Superbowl weekend. Apparently people were paying tens of thousands of dollars to rent out homes. I've also heard that there happened to be be "other services" shipped in from Las Vegas because the Indy community didn't have enough of said services to take care of all the visitors.

I can imagine this could have been an interesting place that weekend.

Excuse me now, I feel an overwhelming urge to shower...

Liberace on steroids!

maybe it's a product test site? or a designer/decorator (keep your day job) wanna be test site?

now about that dolphin fountain... I have a koala bear fountain - but then where I live is much more like their natural habitat than Indy is for a dolphin!

my eyes need to rest now.

I have a theory about the dolphins, it's a little gruesome. They hate it there so much that they wrapped the electrical cord around their tails and are planning to jump in the pool for a, how do I say this gently, a group electrocution.

Gigi,

No, I didn't visit the men's bathroom (It's famous for having a urinal with waterfall that starts when you step up to "go". There's a constant stream of female visitors who go in to see it). However, I did stay there one night of my first honeymoon decades ago. We stayed in the "Daisy Mae" room. It wasn't too ghastly, and the waterfall shower was kind of neat. However, no desire to return....or visit the Indy house either.

It looks like there was originally an okay looking Mid-Century rambler on one part of the lot.

I wondered if the garter belt picture was an indication of why the house was infamous. It's definitely unique.

People who have enough money to do something like that surely sure have enough sense and/or taste not to. I, on the other hand, would make such a wonderful rich person. I'd use my money ever so tastefully. I really would. I promise.

Oh.
My.
God.

With every picture, I thought it couldn't get any worse. And then, it did. The combination of the stone/round/window/earth mother/nautilus vibe and the over the top neoclassical (?) interior detailing was bizarre, to say the least.

I'm still laughing so hard, I'm crying. Thanks for the pick-me-up, Senator.

It looks like someone built it themselves with no skills, prior experience and in their spare time. It sort of gives me the creeps. I can totally see a former NBA player and Kim Kardashian living there.

seriously? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

LOL Marcolo.

The Madonna Inn came to mind as I was viewing the slide show as well. And yes, I've seen the gas station men's room there. :-)

Liberace on steroids??? More like Liberace on crack!

Jodi-

That has to be the ugliest thing I have ever seen and bear in mind I've met Mick Jagger.

I agree on incoherent. A couple of the rooms like the entry way sitting area are not that bad, but then there's the rest . . . .

Now I understand why they need a BALL room.

Notice that there are no rugs or carpets, except in living room? And that the size of the rooms makes the ceilings look low?

The dining room is the spookiest of the rooms--you can't make a move in there without having it repeated over and over. Imagine the room with, say, ten people in it!

Oh the horror--my eyes, my eyes!!! And the poor dolphins! Who will save them??!!!

done the madonna inn waterfall urinal :) quite a hoot...

What a catastrophic feat of construction! The thing is literally writhing and sobbing with grief -- from the depths of the pool to the height of the 2nd floor ballroom, from the outside kitchen to the inside kitchen, and from every bed and bathroom! Won't some kind soul please come forward to put this thing out of it's misery? Zeebee, you have the right idea. I nominate you for the task!

In my brother's neighborhood in Fla. there's a dolphin mailbox similar to the dolphins in the pic. And it's a fairly expensive neighborhood. I usually drive by it when my sil's in the car, just to irritate her :)

I do like the wrought iron fence that's around the pool, though.

Imagine what it cost to build the place!

What the heck were they smoking?

Oh my gosh! I looked at it just WANTING it to not be that bad, but it is! I actually feel nauseous after seeing most of the slides. For some reason the ceilings really creep me out!

Until mama_goose posted that this was an Extreme Home, I was thinking that the house's most redeeming feature was that it provided work for many local trades for a long time. Except for those Extreme homes, don't they bring in crews and do it up very fast? So no/few locals and no ripple effect to the local economy.

Where can I buy crown moulding that starts at the floor?

mtnfever - I was looking up Extreme Home too. I don't think the show actually builds the houses - they just showcase "extreme" homes. I am pretty sure this one fit the bill!

I might be wrong about that... I would love to see that episode, though.

Russian oligarch?

Here's a piece I "found" about the house on "Made Up Histories of the World's Ugliest Houses."

The Kessler House, built in 1970, was designed by Jethro Bodine, nephew of the late oil baron/tycoon Jedediah Clampett, of Tennessee and California. It was decorated by Mrs. Lisa Douglas of Hooterville, TN, formerly New York City. Mr. Bodine designed the mansion to be the ultimate love nest for himself and his life partner, Liberace. The couple hoped to live a simple and inconspicuous life of anonymity in Indianapolis, so the original design for the home was simple, encompassing a structure of a mere 10,000 square feet. Early in the building process, however, it is reported that Mr. Bodine received a gift from his beloved, "The Complete History of Architecture and Design" which had been written by Bodine's sexually androgynous friend, Jane Hathaway, PhD. The illustrations in the ponderous volume so moved Bodine that he fired the project's original architect, Bill Davis of New York City firm, Davis Engineering, and set out to design an atrocity which included every architectural element ever seen, from the earliest of cave dwelling to post-modernity.

Mrs. Douglas was employed as decorateur based on the mutual acquaintance of Mr. Samuel Drucker, retail tycoon in the Hooterville area where Mr. Clampett resided before becoming a millionaire whence he loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly Hills, CA, bringing with him his daughter Elly May Clampett, mother-in-law Daisy May Moses, and Bodine, son of his cousin, Pearl Clampett. Mrs. Douglas' good taste was well regarded in the area, and her obvious cultural superiority from having been raised in New York City and having a foreign accent made her the obvious choice for the ambitious project. While her impeccable taste is evident throughout the dwelling, she considers the mirrored dining room her "piece de resistance." Late in the project, however, close friends reported some discord between Douglas and Mr. Liberace, who felt the kitchen was too ornate and demanded it be toned down to its present state of perfection.

Particular attention was given to the Art featured in the house, and the statuary of the cement pond area. Bodine himself selected the paintings for the lavish home, and his sister and cousin by marriage, Jethrine Bodine Bodine, gifted him with the stunning fountain of playful dolphins that bedecks the cement pond deck.

FWIW -- clergychick ;)

Ok , I live in Indy and this house is such an eyesore on the street it's on. Many years ago it was a normal sized home and the man who lived there bought up all the lots around him to build this monstrosity. No one understands it. It's not even in the nicest part of town and sits right on a busy four lane street.

Can you imagine the realtors in this office having a complete blats writing this listing? For example, I imagine the listing title "Indy's Most Infamous Home Is Back!" is meant to read "Indy's Most Infamous Home - It's Baaaaaaaack!". And the text "one can not even describe" probably started as "one can not even describe - seriously - we can't describe this freak show, can you?". Then the ending text "This is one of the most unique homes in Indy and you have to see it to believe it" really means "OK, here's your chance. You've got to see this in person. The pictures do no justice. You really will not believe someone actually paid money to build and design this home". :-)

I still can't get past the amount of swiss cheese lighting on every ceiling - even the garage.

Helene

I'd like to know how the realtors figured out how to write this up. A home that is ugly is usually listed as needing "tlc" or we use the word "potential", but really, what can one say about this?
This is the largest collection of ugly I have ever seen. One almost had to work hard at it to make everything come out so awful. I noticed that the sink in the red bathroom and the 2nd floor ballroom floor were not so bad, but seriously, everything else was! The tiger/woman picture was nightmare inducing. I had always wanted a fireplace in my bedroom, but now I am cured of that thought thanks to these poor examples. I don't know if I would laugh or cry if that were my house. One would need a huge sense of humor to get through the day....

Did anyone notice the inverted wedding cakes randomly attached to the ceiling in the living room? I'm going to have to take that in again- there was just too much to gape at the first time around.

I gotta say, I have some pretty eclectic and low-brow tastes, but this was beyond even my capacity for tolerance. My hat's off to the creator.

Well now. That is... interesting.

As much as I enjoyed the slide show with my mouth hanging wide open, I have to say that all of your comments make it that much more entertaining. Thanks for the night cap!

oh dear, that is quite a dog.

I actually like the exterior of the home (minus the dolphins, landscaping and dirty pool). I like the big crazy shaped window and the curved decks.

But on the interior, the whole thing needs to be taken down to the studs and redone from scratch. It's just so very bad. Marcolo's comment may have been facetious, but renovating this house would cost so much money that 2.2 million is kind of outragous. If you had $2.2 M, and the house cost $200k, that would leave $2M for renovations. That seems about right.

Nah, not for me, no drawers in the kitchen ;-)

If Elvis were still alive,, I might think this was his home.