I SPY: Deluxe Tree Fort

Like any boy that grew up in a mid-sized town with a green backyard I always wished for a tree fort clubhouse to camp out in, use as a base of operations for a secret society or waste away summer days reading comic books and playing board games with friends in the shade. Alas it never happened - the walnut trees in our yard were too tall, their branches too far off the ground, and perhaps my parents too wise to invest in making me my own fire hazard/eyesore/insurance risk.

I look back at friend's treehouses I visited when I was young that enchanted me and laugh at how dangerous they were. Ladders constructed from rickety wooden pallet slats, nails sticking out to snag on clothes, holes in the rotting floor you could stick a foot through - a buffet of splinters and tetanus shots waiting to happen.

I realize now that my dreams of youth were based on George Lucas-ian Hollywood tree forts, picture perfect and well manicured miniature homes constructed by a small army of stage designers, architects and master craftsmen who were well payed, unlike the legions of fathers who spent what little spare time and cash they had on weekends struggling to create an abode in a living, growing tree.

While driving near our new neighborhood, waves of nostalgia washed over me when I saw this majestic beauty:

It's a multi-level structure with several actual "cabins" and a lookout that towers some 50 feet in the air. My curiosity piqued and so a little internet research revealed Tucker's Treehouse in St. Louis Park was built by an insurance salesman and landlord in the mid-1980's in an attempt to mend fences with his estranged son.

The story behind it is like an Oscar winning movie with a soundtrack written by Harry Chapin. The teenage son leaves home angry, resentful that dad spent more time in the office than playing catch. Overworked dad quits his high paying job and for the next five years builds a titanic tree house hoping to catch the attention of the boy who always wanted a tree fort when growing up.

Unlike most neighborhood NIMBY battles the locals actually welcomed the structure as a sort of local landmark and sided with the builder in a prolonged battle against City Hall that drew national media attention as featured in this New York Times article. The owner used to give tours, but in a sort of non-heartwarming Hollywood story turn for the weird, the builder was accused of neglecting his rental properties and spent some jail time for being a slumlord. Regardless, many would view this tale as having a happy ending - reports indicate the man's tree house tribute played a big part in reuniting him with his son.

If you like tree homes, or want to live like an Ewok, check out this article or this top ten list featuring invisible tree forts, hobbit holes, and more!