Long before Area15 began drawing visitors with its eclectic mix of sights and attractions, the quirky estate of former Nevada Lt. Governor and retired neurosurgeon Lonnie Hammargren long delighted visitors with its endless artifacts and exploratory weirdness.

Neon signs, giant tiki statues, Evel Knievel’s American flag uniform—those and more fill the house and surrounding property off Sandhill Road south of Flamingo. For decades, Hammargren collected casino castoffs and historical memorabilia, turning an otherwise nondescript home in a central Las Vegas neighborhood into an unofficial museum that stretched into three neighboring houses.

Hammargren’s collection was mind-blowing in its scope, creativity and sheer randomness: a full-size Venetian gondola floating in an indoor pool, an original MGM aquarium, a segment of a Stratosphere roller coaster, a stairway from Liberace’s stage show …

Over the years, Hammargren was featured on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, the Travel Channel’s Vegas VIP Homes and on A&E’s Hoarders. In-the-know locals would flock to the Hammargren House each Nevada Day, when Hammargren would open up his home to the public for tours.

Eventually, Hammargren’s collection got the best of his budget. Deeply in debt, he lost one of his three homes and had to auction off a portion of his collection. Gone is the gondola, but the airplane above the swimming pool remains.

Thus ended a delightfully quirky chapter in Las Vegas history … or did it? In much the same way a casino gets imploded to make way for new growth, the Hammargren House now lives again, albeit in a slightly different form.

In 2017, Amber Softing and her husband Mike bought the main Hammargren house and renamed it Paradise Crest Manor. Having grown up nearby, Softing had always fantasized about living in the home. And when she had the chance to realize her dream, she also wanted to continue Hammargren’s legacy.

“Lonnie built everything in the house himself,” Softing says. Then she adds, with equal parts humor and veneration, “All of this is basically me living in a crazy man’s mind.”

The couple are renovating the home and slowly re-collecting some of the objects sold to auction. Since Mike works in construction, they’re doing most of the work themselves, and they’re documenting the process on a YouTube channel called My Crazy House.

“We’re giving ourselves 10 years to get the house done,” Softing says. “We’re only on year three, so please forgive that it is still crazy in here.”

Softing says she initially feared the Hammargrens would resent them for taking over their home. Instead, the two couples have become close, even spending some holidays together. The Hammargrens have gifted several objects to the Softings, including an architectural model of the Desert Inn.

“I couldn’t ask for better neighbors,” says Sandy Hammargren. (Her husband, Lonnie, no longer does interviews at age 83.) “The ironic thing is that she’s just as crazy as my husband is as far as collecting things, but on a different scale. And that I don’t mean crazy—I just mean, interesting.”

While Hammargren would open his home to any curious passerby, Softing is more private. She won’t give interior tours, but she’s planning to use a portion of her home into a small event space.

“It just feels crazy having that many people walk through my house,” says Softing, who says she’s slowly coming to terms with the fact that her home will always be something of a tourist attraction. “So we’ve kept the tradition of Halloween alive instead.”

For now, your best chance to relive a bit of the old Hammargren magic comes on Halloween. The Softings and the Hammargrens will open their respective backyards to the public for a one-night event called Monsters at the Manor. In addition to the remaining artifacts—such as the old Showboat Casino sign—there will be a “haunted walk-thru” with animatronics, inflatables and “light scares.” Food and drink will be for sale at the family-friendly event.

“It’s the only chance that we give people to look at all the crazy stuff in the backyard,” Softing says. “And Lonnie’s usually out there introducing himself to every single person, too, so that’s always fun.”

Last year, the event was canceled due to the pandemic. Softing estimates that about 5,000 people visited in 2019.

Ticket proceeds benefit the charity organization Critical Care Comics, which brings comics and toys to hospitalized children.

Monsters at the Manor October 31, 5:30-9 p.m., $1. 4318 Ridgecrest Drive, paradisecrestmanor.com, bit.ly/3jq2Uhe.