The Newtown Pentacle

Friday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Dateline: Swissvale – and Our Lady of the Pentacle’s weekend ideation of visiting Trundle Manor. A private home full of odd treasures, Trundle Manor offers tours of its collection for lookie loo’s like us. Their Wikipedia page describes the operation as ‘a macabre art museum and oddity tourist trap.’

We arrived early, as is my habit, and I started worrying about climbing up the stairs due to the still recovering ankle situation. We made it to the top, though, and rang the bell at the appointed time.

(as a note, my ankle was fairly sore after visiting and walking around the Heinz History Center, which was about an hour or so prior to the visit to Trundle Manor)

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Stepping into Trundle Manor, you are greeted by an absolute explosion of detail. Everywhere you turn your head, their collections will offer something of interest. Taxidermy, medical oddities, etc. and they actually had a Jenny Haniver on display. There were also a bunch of hand made electrical gadgets which were kind of scary.

The space was small, and we were part of a group moving through the rooms. Our host was the lady of the house, who introduced herself using the stage name of ‘Velda Von Minx.’

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Mrs. Von Minx pointed out various points of interest in the sections of the house that were open for public inspection. The shot above is from their parlor. Everywhere you looked, there was something attention grabbing.

Her husband – ‘Mr. Arm’ – wasn’t present, but his presence was felt as Mrs. Von Minx described his art – a combination of practical engineering and artistic showmanship. Here’s a report on Trundle Manor and a visit from local CBS affiliate KDKA.

I’m told that they appeared on MTV’s ‘extreme cribs,’ back in the day.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Yes, that’s a human brain in a jar, which was sharing shelf space with a ‘singing tumor’ and a jar of psoriasis flakes. People donate oddities to the Trundle Manor couple all the time. It’s part of the admission process, apparently, but obviously cash can also be the coin of the realm for entry.

I should state that there’s a seriously weird side to Pittsburgh. The relatively low cost of real estate here allows people to really spread their wings, let their hair down, and embrace their passions. It’s what NYC used to be like before the REBNY people drove the cost of a living into the stratosphere and drained all the financial vitality out of the creative class.

The only folks who can afford modern day NYC are bankers and brokers, who are the world’s most boring and uncreative people.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Mr. Arm apparently constructed the mask above to wear at his wedding, and it enjoys a prominent position in the displays. We moved through the manor, which offers secret doors and rooms, hidden behind bookcases and panels that pivot open at the flip of a switch.

Our Lady and the two friends we came with seemed both amused and electrified by the visit, and I got busy with the camera while they were chatting with Mrs. Von Minx.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Me? I had to negotiate getting back down those steep steps outside while vouchsafing the ankle. This was a bit more difficult than it should have been and on step, I had to catch myself a bit at one point on the way down when the ankle began to flex in an uncomfortable manner. Brr.

I think that if you died here at Trundle Manor you might end up getting incorporated into an artwork. Worth your time if you find yourself in Pittsburgh, and Swissvale is also right next door to Carrie Furnace.

Back next week with something different, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.

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