RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0182 - Lonnie Hammargren's House, Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada

Anyone that has lived in Las Vegas knows Lonnie Hammargren, or is at least familiar with his name and the house(s) that he lives in. Lonnie is a neurosurgeon by profession and he was also Lieutenant Governor of Nevada a number of years ago, but Lonnie is best known for being the ultimate collector! Most collectors specialize in one or two product types, but Lonnie collects just about anything. Over the years his collection has grown to the point that he has purchased and expanded into the two adjacent houses and he now needs additional room. Once a year Lonnie invites guest to tour his collection, so how could I refuse!

When you drive down the street, you can not miss Lonnie's house(s) because the first structure is "Paradise Garden" [Paradise ("Noun") Old Persian, A Walled Garden: 1.Heaven, 2. Eden, 3. Bliss], followed by the continuous, attached structures "Palace of the Governor, Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico", "Cathedral Chutreaux," "Stonehenge," and "Chichen Itza Castillo Del Sol." You will also note that Lonnie's House it is the only structure in the neighborhood with a replica of the Space Shuttle sitting on the front lawn and a Batmobile parked in the driveway. The house is guarded by several statues!

Picture by Kolohe

We decided to start our tour in the garage, which contained a number of unusual vehicle (including 2 vintage Rolls Royce vehicles) and the original balloon basket used in the movie Around the World in 80 Days. There are also a number of other vehicles scattered throughout the property.

From the garage you can follow a "secret" tunnel to Lonnie's Crypt (called "Pharaoh's Tomb"), where Lonnie has his own cryogenic coffin (he has a mannequin of himself in the coffin), enclosed in a metal sarcophagus. Will this be Lonnie's final resting place?

Picture by Kolohe

When you walk through the front door of the main residence, the "Sistine Chapel" is on the right, which also contains an original 1815 Venetian Gondola. It is interesting to note that the construction of the gondola is asymmetrical; i.e., the port (left) side of the structure has significantly more curvature so that the gondola can efficiently be driven by a single ore near the stern. The toothed prow ornament is made of iron to counterbalance the weight of the gondolier.

Picture by Kolohe

You then have to walk through "Ted's Bar" to get to the "Pharaoh Throne & Music Room." There is a secret door between the two rooms, and if the door is not open, you need to press the tiger's eye and then the door will automatically open.

Picture by Kolohe

Picture b Kolohe

The "Roman Dining Hall" is behind the "Pharaoh Throne & Music Room," but there is not a lot of room for dining! The "Secundo" and "Prima" kitchens are located adjacent to the "Roman Dining Hall."

From "Pharaoh Throne & Music Room," you can go upstairs to the "Music Atrium," which contains a wide variety of musical instruments. The adjacent room contains a collection of astronaut paraphernalia.

After passing a dinosaur skeleton and a knight in shinning armor, you find items from the Pacific Islands and South America.

Picture by Kolohe

From this point, the rooms seem to get really disorganized. On the back side of the house is the "Toy" and "Super Hero" rooms. There are a lot of Evil and Robbie Knievel motor cycle items and movie props in this section of the house. Lonnie even has the leather motorcycle suit Evil was wearing when he jumped the fountain in front Caesars Palace. (Unfortunately, Evil broke almost every bone in his body trying that jump.)

Picture by Kolohe

I don't know the intended theme of some other rooms, but I did recognize Lonnie's Office, his bedroom ("Liberache's Boudoir"), and there is a long bar at the back of the house before you walk out to one of the pools.

Picture by Kolohe

The back yards of all three properties are interconnected, so you can just explore the entire area without going back into one of the houses. There are several pools, a concert stage, old cars, trains, mining equipment, statues, and even the pink Easter Egg that Liberache walked through for his Easter Show.

Picture by Kolohe

However, Lonnie's real love is outer space and space travel. He has all types of rockets, space transporters, capsules, a Mars Lander, Space Shuttles, and a replica of the Russian International Space Station.