![]() ![]() ![]() Upon arrival, after taking myself on a tour of the miniature Second Line scene, the two-person organ (one cranks, one plays) and a cave carved out for a miniature being, curiously titled “Ned’s Claim,” among other treasures, I sat down for an interview with Preble, only to learn that he would also be interviewing me. “I never pictured myself behind the counter of a museum gift shop, but after fifteen years, I’ve met all sorts of people.”īefore I left New Orleans to make the hour-long drive to Abita Springs, I called Preble to let him know I was running a little late. “This is one of the greatest jobs in the world,” he said. The group passed by, agreeing to pay the cost of admission after the self-guided tour, and Preble turned back toward me. “And if we break it, we’re buying it?” one woman asked with a thick Southeast Louisiana accent. “There’s nothing private, nothing’s gonna jump out at you,” Preble said, a well-rehearsed line that you could tell he wished he didn’t have to say. The introduction to what lay beyond the gift shop’s door was short and sweet. “It’s three dollars apiece,” he said, “except for Batman. ![]() 336 in Abita Springs.John Preble, the owner and founder of the museum and the artist behind its winding menageries, looked up from his perch and welcomed the guests, counting all seven. The Abita Mystery House is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm for a donation of $3.00. Outside are large scale installations including the giant fish/alligator hybrid construction “Buford the Bassigator.” a former Mardi Gras parade float made from spray-foam installation and foam rubber The House of Shards, a stucco structure with inlaid glass and ceramic found objects placed in mosaic patterns The Hot Sauce House collection of Tabasco products and a vintage trailer that has been impacted by a flying saucer that crashed into its roof.Īs well as serving as an exhibition space for Preble’s collections and inventions, the property also includes a Créole cottage used by the Northshore Art Academy, a program that hosts art classes for both adults and children. There is also a real live alligator snapping turtle that lives in a small pond by the front door. Not to be missed are Preble’s taxidermy inventions, which include a Fiji mermaid and a 30-legged alligator. Historic vintage objects and cultural detritus such as a large paint-by-numbers collection, surrealistic early twentieth-century postcards, and an assortment of barbed wire fences are just a few of the 50,000 items lining the walls of the main exhibition space. Preble’s Minitown consists of such Louisiana-themed scenes as “New Orleans Jazz Funeral,” where you press the button and spooks jump out of the coffins and brass bands float through the speakers, and “Martians Come to Mardi Gras,” where the French Quarter crowd lets the good times roll while a UFO spins happily in the background.Īside from the Minitown exhibits, the museum is a Victorian style cabinet of curiosities, channeled through twentieth century pop culture, and it represents decades of Preble’s collecting activities. (The Tinkertown Museum features miniature, animated wood carvings in dioramas depicting scenes of Southwestern life.) Preble was so inspired by Tinkertown that when he came back to Abita Springs he wanted to create something similar, but using motifs and images relevant to Louisiana. Preble had received traditional training as a painter, and had gained recognition in the art world for his portraits of Créole Indians, but he chose to focus on work outside of the mainstream after a visit to Ross Ward’s Tinkertown Museum in New Mexico. The museum was opened by John Preble in 2000. The UCM Museum (Unusual Collections and Minitown, pronounced "you-see-em-mu-se-um"), also known as The Abita Mystery House, is a family-operated roadside attraction located in an old 1950s car service station in a small town about an hour north of New Orleans. ![]()
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