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Garden of Isis - Inside the Florence Deeble House
basstbn Says: As a child, Florence Deeble watched S.P. Dinsmoor create his iconic Garden of Eden. She was inspired (as an adult) to re-create in her own backyard "concrete postcards" incorporating stones collected in her travels. Her home became property of Lucas' Grassroots Art Center....
Florence's Rock Garden - Florence Deeble House
basstbn Says: As a child, Florence Deeble watched S.P. Dinsmoor create his iconic Garden of Eden. She was inspired (as an adult) to re-create in her own backyard "concrete postcards" incorporating stones collected in her travels. Her home became property of Lucas' Grassroots Art Center....
basstbn Says: I must confess that I have forgotten the story behind the displays of fork art scattered around Lucas - just one of those crazy things that happen in a town full of creative, sometimes off-beat people, I guess. Of course this is a play on the term American Folk Art, and...
basstbn Says: The Garden of Eden garners a lot of publicity for this little town, but I found the Grassroots Art Center to be far more intriguing and colorful. It is located in three renovated 1897 postrock limestone buildings on Main Street.Being the only patrons of the center on our...
basstbn Says: Enjoy the fanciful and superbly creative works of Eric Abraham; perhaps meet the artist himself. If he's not in, check with the folks down the street at the Grassroots Art Center who may have a key.
S.P. Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden
basstbn Says: On an otherwise quiet residential street in this north central Kansas prairie town sits one of the strangest attractions in the midwest - an assemblage of concrete and limestone sculptures known as The Garden of Eden. I think the description of this attraction found on the...
yooperprof Says: "Grassroots Arts" are those which are cultivated in the fervent creativity of non-traditional artists. Richard Dadd - the Victorian "Fairy" painter - was a grassroots artist. Grandma Moses was another. That eccentric old man down the street who makes sculptures out of beer...
Helpfulness
Lucas is a little off the beaten track. but well worth a visit, particularly if you are interested in authentic American populism.
In Kansas, Exit 206 from I-70 is about 45 miles west of Salina. Take Kansas SR 232 north, past Wilson Lake State Park (a good place for a picnic) 15 miles to Kansas SR 18. Turn on SR 18 heading west and go about a mile to the town of Lucas. There are well-posted directions to the Garden of Eden.
In the 2000 Census, Lucas posted a population of 422.
Written Sep 9, 2006
This little meat market has been in business in Lucas since 1922. That does not seem long a long time to those accustomed to the cultures of Europe or Asia, but in an area that was unsettled frontier until the 1870s, that is a long time.
Entering Brant's Market is a delightful step back in time. It's a place where butchers/meat cutters are still that - not dispensers of pre-packaged meats. I was delighted to see an ancient butcher's block that had been worn by years of use. Our small group of travelers spent better than half an hour chatting with the third generation owner and trying out various products before making our purchases.
Voted one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Commerce in 2009.
What to buy: We bought Czech-style (made in the shop) ring bologna. One problem - we didn't buy enough, and are considering placing a call to have some more shipped to us. Other members of our group bought smoked sausage and bacon, and have raved about the quality.
What to pay: A little more than supermarket prices - but what a difference in taste.
Written Nov 24, 2009
Address: 125 So Main Street
Phone: (800) 550-9199
yooperprof Says: You'll notice that Lucas has kept its own cinema - called the "Theater" - showing current releases. It's one of the things that enables this place - with fewer residents than many urban apartment buildings - to continue being a viable community, and not a ghost town.
Brant's Meat Market - Since 1922
yooperprof Says: I think it's interesting that Lucas - population 422 - has supported a family-owned meat market for 84 years! I like visiting small town America, but I try to be thoughtful about it. The same kinds of issues arise visiting a place like Lucas that would also occur if you...
yooperprof Says: The UPS Van parks in the center of the main street in downtown Lucas. It's plenty wide - probably helped with the cattle drives.
basstbn Says: Not off the beaten track, actually, because this scenic drive is the route most visitors will use to drive to Lucas from Interstate 70. However, there is no separate entry spot for Post Rock Scenic Byway.more info and photos to be added soon.
yooperprof Says: In summer 2006, I started a photography project of taking pictures of Midwestern grain elevators. Bernd and Hilda Becher, twentieth century German photographers, inspire me. They were famous for creating vast "typologies" of different building types, mostly decaying...
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Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas
Lucas is in a world of its own. Not only is it off the beaten path in the limestone post rock country of north central Kansas, but it is a unique town in which to view a wonderful and bizarre...
Once the domain of free ranging nations of stone age men and the largest herds of ungulates ever recorded by humans. This town is in some ways not unlike any other town on the high plains. It was......
Build your own Lucas page
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