Status: Demolished, but palm tree is still on the property.

If you’ve ever been up to High Point State Park, chances are you may have passed the house with the metal palm tree in the front yard. It’s very hard not to notice not only the palm tree, but the other oddities on the property and the style of the house itself.

Since my mother first came to this country from Germany in the 50′s, she and her siblings and my grandparents were fascinated with the periwinkle green metal house that was more than likely built during that decade known as the “Palm Tree House” because of the two metal palm trees (yes, there were TWO) on the property at the time. Aside from the metal palm trees, there was also a rocket on the roof and a rotating Lazy Susan made of steel in front of the house. She even recalls passing by and seeing a woman on the front lawn pushing what looked like a baby carriage. Nothing odd about that, right? Well, maybe if there wasn’t a bird in a large cage inside the baby carriage!

The story I’ve been told is that the house belonged to the Patricia family up until 2002. Mr. Patricia was a metal architect who spent most of his time tirelessly welding and building things from metal and steel, hence the palm trees. I was even more fascinated to learn that he made the Guiness Book Of World Records in the 60s for inventing a “side car” that made parallel parking much easier–it slid sideways into a parking space! I’ve also heard stories that he rode around on a motorcycle with a real stuffed dog in the sidecar, however no one could confirm this was true since the only living members of the Patricia family live out of state, and sadly, Mrs. Patricia passed away last year and Mr. Patricia took his own life in the front yard of the house about 11 or 12 years ago.

When I was younger, my family passed the fascination with the Palm Tree House on to me. I remember passing by on our way to the lake at High Point State Park and looking for the two metal palm trees every time. In recent years, one of the palm trees has disappeared, and to this day, no one knows the whereabouts of the rocket or the second palm tree.

A few months ago I was informed by my uncle that Doug, a close family friend, bought the house. Of course, my entire family bugged him and bugged him until he promised he would ask Doug to give us a tour of the house since it has been a source of intrigue for all of us for decades. And finally, my uncle came through and arranged a tour for us. I can honestly say that out of all the places I’ve ever explored, “Palm Acre”, as Doug has affectionately dubbed it, was definitely one of the most interesting. He told us the history of the house and all of the unusual stories that went along with it. I think I recall Doug saying he was told by someone that there’s even a gravesite on the property somewhere, but he is skeptical of this because he’s scoured just about every inch of the property and found nothing.

I took plenty of pictures while at Palm Acre, especially of the metal palm tree. For the first time in the year and half that I’ve owned my digital camera, it seemed to malfunction. The first picture I took of the palm tree came out completely BLACK even though the sun was shining bright that day. The subsequent pictures I took turned out very dark even though I took all of them from different angles. I asked my uncle about this and he told me that pictures of the palm tree always come out dark for some unknown reason.

The house will soon be demolished, as Doug will be putting a modular home on this property. I would imagine the house would be very difficult to live in anyway considering it’s entirely made of metal and more than likely boils in the summer and would be bitterly cold in the winter. Even though the house will be no more, he’s allowing the metal palm tree and the memory of Mr. Patricia’s hard work to remain. I’m grateful that I had the chance to see the house inside and out before it’s gone. Thanks Doug!

- Ember, 2003