Welcome to Grandview

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About Grandview

In 1937, after his children were grown, Nick Engelbert began to build an elaborate arched porch of concrete around the front entrance of his farmhouse, ultimately covering every inch of the outside surface of the house with concrete inlaid with shards of china, glass, beads, buttons, and sea shells. Over the next 15 years, Nick created more than 40 concrete sculptures in his yard, combining patriotic themes with imagery from history, fairy tales, mythology and his own imagination. At the age of 70, no longer able to make sculptures, he turned to painting, producing over 200 oils before his death in 1962.


The Grandview site is now owned and operated by the Pecatonica Educational Charitable (PEC) Foundation, Inc. Many of the statues have been restored or recreated. The house, now a museum, contains many Engelbert artifacts, family memorabilia, and copies of Nick's paintings. 



 


Featured In.....

Chicago Tribune

St. Paul Pioneer Press

Capitol Times

Wisconsin State Journal

Isthmus

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin Trails


Bibliography

Sublime Spaces and Visionary Worlds

Sacred Spaces and Other Places

Eccentric America

Weird Wisconsin

Midwest Marvels

Backyard Visionaries

Wisconsin Curiosities

Miracles of the Spirit


Awards/Recognition

  1. Bullet   Standing Up for Rural Wisconsin   Award - State Superintendent Libby Burmaster


  1. Bullet   Governor’s Award in Support of the Arts - Governor Scott McCallum, Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts


  1. Bullet    Wisconsin’s Top Rural Development Initiatives  - Governor Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin Rural Partners 


  1. Bullet    Community Development Organization of the Year  - Wisconsin Community Development Society


  1. Bullet    Success Story, WISC-TV, Madison