Oh my gosh y'all - I'm head over heels in love with this place and it's amazing and wonderful creator!!! Pittsburghers - you are so so lucky to have a magical place like Randyland to come and check out and best of all it's free.
So basically Randy is a loud personality and he was diagnosed with developmental problems when he was young. About 25 years ago, he bought a lovely but semi decrepit house in an abandoned part of the city and proceeded to paint the external walls with abandon. His creativity extended to the backyard and garden and he filled those places up with discarded furniture and decorative objects, and arranged them in tableaux full of whimsy and wonder. Then he extended his efforts and purchased another two houses and thus was created the amazing Randyland!
I spent about an hour and a half just wandering about and there was just so much creativity and joy in the art. One thing I noticed was that every person who was in the garden had a smile on their face and honestly, how many places do we really have in this world, that are made to spread joy?
Anyway, one cool thing is that Randy talked about his most recent acquisition- a hugging robot!! It really works and I have the video to prove it!! But apparently last weekend it was left at his garage door and he's not sure if it's on loan or a permanent piece of his collection.
I wish I could say everything is hunky-dory in Randyland but the sad reality is that the area his formerly decrepit house was is now a very desirable neighborhood and Randy doesn't make enough money as a waiter to pay the property tax on his house. So he is hoping to convert his houses into a trust and donate it to the city.
If you want to be uplifted and marvel at how one man made his dreams come true - go visit here. It's an amazing joyful place.
Yelp Review 47/2017