Around the corner from the stunningly beautiful Mono Lake, and nestled amongst a plethora of vintage farming equipment, lies a shack that refuses to be normal like the others. Welcome to the world famous Upside-down house—a place that will truly bring inverted joy to your life.
Simple and quirky, this vertically challenged behemoth is the definition of a solid, though very literal, roadside attraction. For god’s sake, everything is truly upside down inside; they weren’t kidding one bit.
NOTE: This photo was taken rightside up.
When you finally get a full peak through one of the warped windows, one is treated to the standard furnishings of a 19th century house (bed, table, chairs, boots! and cat!!), all of which hang from the ceiling. Are we in crazytown?
Even the informational plague is upside-down, which is a nice touch.
The mono basin's first "man made" (in reality, woman-made) tourist attraction is definitely worth a visit for those traveling to the Yosemite area. It also helps that the upside-down house has been beautifully immortalized by the late great Huell Howser in this incredible clip.
HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?
The Upside-down house was the genius idea of Nellie Bly O'Bryan (1893-1984) longtime resident and lover of the Mono Basin, and apparent hater of gravity. Taking inspiration from two of her favorite children's stories— ‘Upside Down Land’ and ‘The Upsidedownians’— O’Bryan went to work, completing the house to much fanfare in 1956.
Before taking up its current residency at the Old Schoolhouse Museum in Lee Vining, the house was located along the US-395, north of the Tioga Lodge. Upon her death in 1984, the house rotted away for a a few years (apparently the 80s and 90s weren't kind to things “upside-down”) until it was saved by the locals and moved to its current site in October 2000.
Fan Fact: The upside-down house wasn’t Nellie’s first foray into the spotlight. In 1917, she broke new ground and became the first licensed woman movie projectionist in LA.
