We have one of those sites in South Florida.  It's called Coral Castle,
located in Homestead (near Miami).  It was built in 1923 by a Latvian
immigrant.  There is a romantic story that he started building it for his
bride but she never arrived.  However he kept building (and never married)
and it now includes oversize rock furniture.  The site is now a public
attraction open daily.

Interestingly, I think we have one of these in progress near St. Augustine.
Someone is building a castle of concrete block at Vilano Beach just north of
St. Augustine.  This massive thing actually has battlements, towers and
crennellations--all in concrete block.  It is apparently a self-designed and
self-constructed structure which the owner periodically opens to the public
(for a fee of course--supposedly to continue to acquire materials).  I guess
he is inspired by the fort in St. Augustine.  I can't imagine how he got by
zoning requirements in this otherwise normal small beach town.

                Lucy Wayne

>Above Ground Archaeology Question
>
>Do you know of examples of elements of individually produced material
>culture that starts out on an idiosyncratic (or "folk") level and
>then successfully transfers to a cultural-social level?
>
>I am thinking of features and sites, usually architectural, like
>the Watts Towers in Los Angeles. These interesting metal-art towers
>were built by an Italian-American immigrant, Simon Rodia, in the 1920s as a
>work of art and gift to the American people. They were almost demolished by
>the city in the 1950s but "The Committee for Simon Rodia's Towers in Watts"
>saved them and now they are part of the
>culture and heritage of Los Angeles even making it into the official
>architectural guide to the city.
>
>Do you know of other similar creations that:
>
>        (1) were built by individuals (or small groups of people)
>        (2) were "folk", idiosyncratic works (cf. Dysneyland or
>                restorations of Ghost Towns by local or state
>                governments),
>        (3) were either done as "works of art" and/or for commercial
>                reasons,
>        (4) were viewed as idiosyncratic during their "life time",
>        (5) but either during their active period or later
>                became part of officially accepted culture and history.
>
>I would also be interested in such items that did not make the
>transition; that is, they lived and died with their creator.
>
>Finally, but separately, does anyone know of any excavations at such sites?
>                                Robert L. Schuyler
>Robert L. Schuyler
>University of Pennsylvania Museum
>33rd & Spruce Streets
>Philadelphia, PA l9l04-6324
>
>Tel: (215) 898-6965
>Fax: (215) 898-0657
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>
>