Gold Pyramid HouseJames Onan (1938)

Status

Extant

Address

37835-37947 N Dilleys Rd, Wadsworth, Illinois, 60083, United States

Built

1978-1984

Visiting Information

Due to a fire in 2018, there will not be tours of the inside of the home offered until it is renovated. The grounds are open from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. 

About the Artist/Site

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. 

Contributors

Materials

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

Map & Site Information

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

Nearby Environments

Kim's Corner Food

Chicago, Illinois

Norma Gatto

Addison, Illinois

Emitte Hych

East Saint Louis, Illinois

Previous Slide Button Next Slide Button

Post your comment

Comments

No one has commented on this page yet.