Brownsville, Oregon -
Living Rock Studio Museum

Living Rock Studio is very bizarre but very cool if you are at all interested in rocks, minerals, petrified wood, etc. The private tour was very nice but not necessary if you prefer to wander on your own. The flashlights provided were helpful to see the various rocks light up. This place is like none other that you will ever see, great for kids as well. We could feel the family pride as we viewed each handmade wall with glass and stones embedded.

A small donation was accepted at the door. It also has a nice rock shop with reasonable prices. Plan on spending just over an hour. [Susan, 12/29/2009]

This is a shot of the Living Rock studio museum I took this past weekend. I am an avid reader of RSA and I kind of went there not knowing what too look for. That was an amazing place. Nancy, the daughter of the creator of the place, graciously gave us a tour. They are in need of monetary donations to keep the place up. Please see their website livingrockstudios.org. [Annie C. Mejia, 07/06/2009]

This attraction is a circular, two-story house designed and built by hand out of a life-time collection of rocks, including agates, petrified wood, flagstone, crystals, etc.

There is a floor to ceiling hollow "tree" and a circular staircase. It took the family almost 25 years to complete. The contents of the house include intarsia (thinly cut rocks placed in mosaics to form pictures), paintings of the local wildlife, and 100 wood-carvings (each from a single piece of a different kind of wood). Astonishing and well worth the stop -- especially if a tour of Brownsville is included in your trip. [Verna Reesman, 04/08/2007]

This place looks absolutely non-descript from the outside. What awaits you inside this rock palace, however, is nothing short of amazing. Created by Howard Taylor, now deceased, rocks from all over the West are embedded into walls, towers, turrets, and stairways. His stained glass-like pictures made from thin slices of colored rocks and gemstones are quite interesting. His daughter Nancy now runs the studio and leads tours. [Jan Norwood, 06/14/2005]

An extremely bizarre place we have found in our wanderings is The Living Rock Museum located in Brownsville, Oregon. We do not have an address but it is a circular building constructed of concrete and all different types of rocks. Also has the largest book we have ever seen. Lots of character, has to be seen to be appreciated. Visitors are handed flashlights to hold up to rocks embedded in the walls to see "how they glow."

Also in Brownsville is a stuffed two-headed goat. Brownsville is very proud of this -- it can be seen in the window of an ice cream shop. [George and Karen Adams, 11/11/1997]