Russ Becker saw a small log cabin while at a museum in New York State when he was in grade school. He couldn’t get that building out of his mind. It was his inspiration to build a castle.
Becker, a resident of Huntley, said, “I wanted to build something bigger than a log cabin, but there wasn’t anything around at the time that would give enough material to build a castle. I would have to buy many Lincoln Log kits. I decided to use pennies. So, I started collecting pennies.”
Becker collected pennies until he filled two 5-gallon water bottles. Then in 1995, he started building a castle with those pennies.
Becker said, “I drew a blueprint of the castle, designing it. I still have those blueprints. The first thing I did was determined the floor plan of the castle. I began from the ground up so you can get the size and proportions of the building right from the beginning.”
Did he have an architectural background?
Becker said, “No I did technical work where visual planning and technical skills did help me prepare for this project.”
Completed in 1995, it took Becker 13 years to build his model penny castle. It weighs about 200 pounds and its value in pennies is approximately $241.52.
What was the next step in drawing the blueprints?
Becker said, “I kept things simple at this point by drawing four squares for the turrets of the castle and four rectangles to connect them together with walls and then you just follow the grid to make sure everything lines up in the right perspective and stays a consistent size.”
An interesting thing to note is that Becker was able to keep the towers in a round shape.
“I cut a section of a pipe to use as a template. I made the circles separately and then stacked them to create the towers,” he said.
Castles had round towers because there were more resistant to siege technology such as sappers and projectiles than square towers. The round front is more resistant than the straight side of a square tower, just like a load-bearing arch.
What did Becker use to glue it together?
“Elmer’s glue,” he said. “I even wrote to the company with a photo of the finished project to show them what their glue to do. I never got a response back.”
How long did it take to build?
Becker said, “It took me 13 years to build the castle. I kept a record of the pennies used and the dates. The number of pennies amounted to $241.52, give or take a penny. I finished the castle in 1995.”
The castle is detailed with spiral staircases and a drawbridge. You can see the staircases through the windows.
Becker said, “The castle’s foundation is two 2 ¾ inch boards held together by wood screws and glued. The castle is 23 inches wide, 17 inches wide, and 12 inches high. The entire structure weighs about 200 pounds.”
Although the castle hasn’t been on display, that is a future goal.
Becker responded, “I really would like to share it with the community. It would require someone to move it since I really don’t have the capability of moving it and it needs a protective cover.”
Will Becker build more buildings?
Becker said, “I would like to, but I really don’t have the space to take on another project like this.”
