It has faced four devastating fires, two major earthquakes, enormous business and financial challenges. And yet, it survives!
Thousands upon thousands of people have visited The Manor in Hollywood, California over its 30-year-plus lifespan. Appreciating it, enjoying it, loving in it, sometimes being mean to it.
But The Manor survives.
Its magic is strong and enduring. It's the magic of many friends and guardians who have fought many long battles and put in large amounts of time and money to insure its survival.
This, then, is its story.
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Gemini Manor began its remarkable life as a simple "Hollywood Bungalow" style house. Alexander (a Collector of Many Things) purchased it in 1970 and later connected it (using a small bridge) to an adjoining home. The two separate places now formed the dual identity of the mysterious Gemini Manor.
Parts of homes that were abandoned or being demolished; stage props; discarded toys and auto parts, tree branches and old bathtubs and concrete statues: all these and countless other objects began to give new and fascinating life to the tired old bungalows. The two halves were slowly transformed into a whole and exciting marvel of charm and beauty.
As word spread about the unusual Manor, people began arriving to explore this strange gem on the fringes of Hollywood. They were not disappointed. Numerous stained glass windows, artworks from many periods and flavors, dragons, wizards and fairies, unicorns and beautiful maidens, rustic woodwork, towers and skylights greeted those curious enough to discover its inside treasures. And outside, they could find peace and harmony in the Reflections Garden. A quiet place surrounded with fishponds, lovely plants, trees, toys, beautiful ironworks and questioning statues.
A woman visitor remarked many years ago that she had figured out the answer as to why The Manor was the way it was: "So that a person's eyes would never be bored no matter where they looked."
And so it is. Over the years, many have been drawn to colorful events at The Manor. Concerts, shows, parties of all kinds, weddings, poetry and stage plays, art presentations, children's tours and even a woman's boxing match! People from many lands, political and personal persuasions, young and old have enjoyed the timelessness of this Place Out of Time.
Perhaps, someday you will pay a visit?