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Thomasville, Georgia: Lapham-Patterson House - Odd Rooms, Doors

C.W. Lapham was terrified of fire and suspicious of 90 degree angles, so he built his mansion with 45 exterior doors and 19 asymmetrical rooms. Tour guides starting in the 1980s claimed there were no right angles in the house (but there are).

Address:
626 N. Dawson St., Thomasville, GA
Directions:
From the center of town head northwest on US 84/N. Broad St. Turn right (east) onto E. Webster St. and drive two blocks. The yellow-orange house is on the southeast corner of Webster and Dawson Sts.
Hours:
Tours F 1-4 pm or by appt. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
229-226-7664
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Lapham-Patterson House.

Lapham-Patterson House - Has Right Angles!

The Lapham-Patterson House is now operated by the Thomas County Historical Society. It is open for tours Fridays from 1 PM-4 PM and by appointment. It is also available for weddings, showers, or any other type of event.

The Lapham-Patterson House was built with many right angles; the "no right angles" concept was introduced in the 1980s for unexplained reasons, and tourists were told "there are no right angles in this house" even as they looked right at right angles.

[Ephraim J. Rotter, Curator, 07/02/2011]
Victorian Health in the Lapham-Patterson Mansion

From the description of the Trapezium House in Petersburg, VA, it sounds as if the gentleman who built this house might have been a true victorian. There is a house similar in description in Thomasville, GA. Apparently, for reasons believed to affect one's health, nothing in the house, including the wooden floor boards, is "centered" which gives you an odd feeling if you stand around and look at everthing long enough. He also believed in "colored light" so there is a lot of stained glass which the sun shines through and no doors or windows are at the same height or are of the same measurements.

There is a really interesting room upstairs that has carvings that the light shines through during a couple of the solstices and the images blend together on the floor to make another image. This house, though it looks like an amateur built it, had to have taken a lot of thought.

[Rabnay, 10/11/2000]

Nearby Offbeat Places

The Big Oak - 328+ Years OldThe Big Oak - 328+ Years Old, Thomasville, GA - < 1 mi.
Mini-Noah's ArkMini-Noah's Ark, Thomasville, GA - 7 mi.
Johnny DonutseedJohnny Donutseed, Lloyd, FL - 25 mi.
In the region:
Football Coach Circled By Heads, Tallahassee, FL - 34 mi.

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