Abbadia Mare

John Hays Hammond built the house of his dreams near Gloucester MA and named it Abbadia Mare (Wikipedia). He was wealthy enough to build the castle exactly to his specs and without any constraints. He was a  bit weird, too. Among other things he displayed the skull of one of Christopher Columbus mariners and had the whole wall built of ancient Roman tombstones. He was an inventor, that’s where his wealth came from, and he made sure his house didn’t lack in gadgets. He could completely control the climate inside it via a well-concealed system of pipes and light bulbs. He could have rain, even a downpour, or mid-summer light and heat – any time of the year. For the occasions when he felt like listening to powerful music he added an eight-story organ.

The house is believed to be haunted. Did Mr. Hammond find a way to communicate from his eternal place? Or was he lost in some secret hallway and couldn’t find his way out? Or maybe, the voices which sometimes can be heard are just one more of his tricks, the one for which a secret pipe yet needs to be found.

Singing Sand at Manchester-by-the-Sea

Singing Beach is the phenomenon which has puzzled scientists and enchanted visitors for centuries. Step on the beach and you’ll hear the sound made by the sand – the only one of the kind in North America. The beach will not sing to everybody; when you step on its dry sand open up your mind and it will sing or speak to you. If you are not sure, take a dip into the water warmed up by the hot summer sun and try again. As you are leaving the beach, and walking slowly towards Manchester-by-the-Sea, I promise, the sound of its music will still be ringing in your ears.

Paper House of Mr. Stenman

At Pigeon Cove, Mass., there is a house made of newspapers. Mr. Elis F. Stenman, with the help of his family, began in 1922 to prepare the paper material to be used in constructing the walls of this unusual house. The newspapers were made into different layers, each having been pasted and folded. The walls when finished consist of two hundred and fifteen (215) thicknesses.

Today, paper furniture graces the paper house. For the furniture, the newspapers were made into rolls of different sizes.
Approximately 100,000 copies of newspapers have been used in the construction of the house and furniture. This work was started merely as an experiment to see what could be done with newspapers without destroying the print. The experiment has proved a success both in strength and stability. Read more ->