Gold Pyramid HouseJames Onan (1938)

After years of planning, a 55-foot-high, 17,000-square-foot replica of the Great Pyramid of Cheops began to rise in 1978 on an eleven-acre property along North Dilley’s Road, between Interstate Highway 94 and U.S. Highway 41, in Wadsworth, Illinois. Four years later, the Gold Pyramid, the vision of wealthy builder James Onan, was plated in the precious metal and became his family home. Onan also commissioned a 200-ton cement sculpture of Ramses II, eighty small-scale Sphinxes, and three pyramid garages for the property.

After allowing paying guests to tour the site for a few years, Onan closed the pyramid to visitors; however, as of January 2012, the Gold Pyramid’s website states that tours have resumed. Potential visitors are advised to call ahead to confirm access to the property, which is fronted by hieroglyphic-embellished walls

~Holly Metz

Update: The Gold Pyramid House suffered substantial damage during a fire in 2018. The family plans to eventually renovate the property and reopen to the public. 

Marissa Gawel

24k-gold-plated pyramid which is also the Onan family home, sculpture of Ramses II is tinted concrete

37835-37947 N Dilleys Rd
Wadsworth, Illinois, 60083 us
Latitude/Longitude: 42.4123227 / -87.9445664

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