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Location DB >
United States >
West Virginia >
Charleston >
Top O Rock
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created by Turd Furgusen
on 12/27/2012 2:18 PM
last modified by Kurt
on 12/25/2018 4:59 PM
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Publically Viewable |
This location has been labeled as Demolished, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
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*Demolished in September 2015* This is a massive home/studio sitting on 4 acres. It is six stories and nearly 4,000 square feet. The home is divided into two sections (that do not connect on the inside). It was built in 1968 on a site that no one thought was possible for anything, a rocky outcropping overlooking the Kanawha River occupied by large old-growth oak trees. Henry Elden proved everyone wrong and built this unique structure literally around the existing natural features of the rocky outcropping, including the trees! The studio section is on the outward part of the outcropping and is almost 5 stories tall. The bottom two floors are open and are mainly structural support/storage. The third floor is and equipment floor. The top two floors are open and are basically one huge open room, with a small storage room and male/female restrooms. All floors are connected by a metal spiral staircase. The home portion is two floors and somewhat small once you get in. It is long and narrow. The two floors are connected by a large circular room with a winding staircase. The bottom floor is a large kitchen and some additional rooms. The top floor is a few small bedrooms and bathrooms. I did not see anything that struck me as a "master bedroom". The whole place screams state-of-the-art 1960's design. Every single room in the home features floor to ceiling windows. The whole home is surrounded by quite a bit of decking, one portion jutting out and encircling a very large oak tree appx. 30' above the ground!
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Type: Building
Status: Demolished
Accessibility: Difficult
Recommendation: worth the trip
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Address
Private Drive
Charleston, West Virginia
United States
Owner: Dr. Mitchell Rashid
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The studio portion of this house is HUGE and among other things features a live oak tree that the house was constructed around which grows out of the roof. In addition to the oak tree the studio portion of the home was also constructed around an existing rock outcropping that Henry turned into a functioning indoor waterfall!
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fences part-time guard locked gates
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flashlight head protection long pants / sleeves
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This distinctive house/studio was designed and built by noted architect Henry Elden. It was designed to not only be his showcase home, but also to serve as his office/studio. The home won numerous awards and was featured in magazine articles and a television show. Henry was very proud of his home and liked to show it off. For a long time it was always available to be rented for weddings, parties, or other special events. Henry passed away in 2009 at age 94, and his former home has sat empty ever since. The house was left to his children who held a massive estate sale. The house was then sold to a local Doctor. It remains unclear what plans he has for the house.
Top-O-Rock was demolished in 2015
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The house has mixed residential/business zoning. The Dr. who purchased the house has not announced any future plans at this time. It sits empty, and unfortunately deteriorating at this time.
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The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location.
This location has not yet been rated by a moderator.
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This location's validation is current. It was last validated by
Emperor Wang on 12/26/2018 2:05 AM.
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on Dec 26 18 at 2:05, Emperor Wang validated this location on Dec 25 18 at 16:59, Kurt changed the following: History, Status, Media Coverage, Description on Jan 20 13 at 16:47, Opheliaism validated this location on Jan 2 13 at 18:52, Turd Furgusen updated gallery picture FH000004.JPG on Jan 2 13 at 2:41, Turd Furgusen made this location available on Jan 2 13 at 2:41, Turd Furgusen updated a story on Jan 2 13 at 2:40, Turd Furgusen updated the main picture on Jan 2 13 at 2:39, Turd Furgusen updated gallery picture FH000023.JPG on Jan 2 13 at 2:38, Turd Furgusen updated gallery picture FH000021.JPG on Jan 2 13 at 2:36, Turd Furgusen updated gallery picture FH000014.JPG
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