![]() ![]() The UCM is about 45 minutes north of New Orleans, on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. House Collections The entrance to Abita Mystery House is a 1930s Standard Oil gas station complete with two antique pumps out front. It inspires lots of grinning and "oh, wow" as you walk around, and we all talked about it for hours after we left. There is a joyful quality to the place that's contagious. Yet the Abita Mystery House is a modern-day creation, the vision of John Preble, a professional artist and academic. Oh, the UCM Museum also has, in our opinion, the BEST GIFT SHOP EVER. You can easily walk through the place several times, and notice something new each time. There's Buford the Bassigator-a huge fiberglass fish with a massive alligator head! Throughout all the displays there are thousands of bottle caps arranged as decoration, vintage postcards, random bits of text, a vast collection of paint-by-numbers paintings.I could go on, but you've got to see it. There's an old Airstream trailer with a "flying saucer" crashed into it, and a family of aliens living inside. ![]() The ceilings are covered with old circuit and transistor boards, and all sorts of mechanical mobiles hang from them. jazz funerals, "Martian Mardi Gras", juke joints and trailer park tornadoes. There are wonderful dioramas depicting N.O. I don't know how to begin to describe the place for anyone who remembers all the wonderfully goofy roadside attractions you used to see before the interstate highways took over, you get an idea. The UCM Museum is a collection of an old gas station and some small cottages, all connected with covered walkways and paths. John Preble is an artist and a generous and personable man, happy to spend time talking with visitors. Music Links Many of the exhibits at the UCM are augmented by music. Abita Mystery House, Abita Springs, Louisiana. Here are links to other 'self made worlds' or 'art environments.' Art Links Visitors sometimes call the Abita Mystery House a work of art. ![]() Because our houses certainly can never have enough mystery, oddities, or curiosities.If you're a fan of folk art, "outsider art", old roadside attractions ("see the amazing Bassigator!!!", "witness a marvel of science!", etc) then you HAVE to visit the UCM (pronounced "you see 'em") Museum! My family stopped in one afternoon after taking a swamp tour and ended up spending nearly 2 hours there, walking around and talking with the proprietor John Preble. The Abita Mystery House is a folk art world. The gift shop at the entrance also has plenty of fun oddities, allowing you to bring a piece of the mystery house home with you. I am not completely sure if that is actually a thing, but if it’s not, it SO needs to be! In fact, 2004 saw the designation of the Abita Mystery House as a National Eccentric Landmark. It’s clear the creator of this museum, John Preble, is one of a kind, upon looking at the displays he has built and the items in his collection that clearly spans many years. These items are all housed in and around several outbuildings such as an old Creole cabin, a house covered in glass and pottery shards, and more. Yes, folks, you read right, BREWERY! Stop in and grab a couple of beers, then make your way to the ABITA MYSTERY HOUSE- 22275 Hwy 36, Abita Springs, LA.įormerly known as the UCM Museum (and I cannot find what UCM was suppose to stand for… Unusual Collection Museum? Unidentified Collective of Men? Uninhibited Creatures Mamboing?), the Abita Mystery House is a collection of random objects, inventions, animated displays, and other bits and pieces of Americana and beyond.Ī ball obstacle course made of wire, silverware, and bamboo skewers Something my brother in law needs in his upcoming barcade. This offbeat museum in Abita Springs, Louisiana, features memorabilia, tourist information and incredible miniature animated scenes of Southern life by Louisiana outsider artist. Abita Springs is a small town in Louisiana known for its brewery, spring water, and biking trails. ![]()
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