Sacred geometry, and seeds for the future emerge at the Spiral House in Saugerties
story + photos by niki@hvny.info
Up, up, up you go and the reward when you reach the top brings you into the bird’s world and beyond, floating atop the Catskills, now crisp with colors, reflective of artist Tom Gottsleben’s vibrant vision – and the tie-dye outfit and rainbow-colored socks he adorns in a framed photo at the apex of the Spiral House in Saugerties.
The Spiral House in Saugerties, built by artist Tom Gottsleben, who died in 2019 at the age of 68, was initially intended to be a modest guesthouse, “but when you’re married to an artist…” Patty Livingston, Gottsleben’s widow, wrote.
There’s glitter, High Line-worthy sculptures, illuminating crystals and enchanting bridges, odes to doggos in lush bluestone-lined gardens, pops of bright turquoise railings, and downstairs? If you look through binoculars upside down at the tile behind the toilet (yes, those were the instructions), the colors come together magically to form an abundant floral garden wall, as if Van Gogh tiled the bathroom.
The 4,000-square-foot five-story home at the pinnacle of the Catskill Mountain property – now open to the public for limited tours and special events – turns 2-1/4 times around a 32-foot stainless steel and glass spiral staircase that’s lined with books, photographs and mementos. From atop the staircase, a circular wall of sky-colored seats open up to a glass room enveloped in glorious views that stretch far past the site’s 35-acres, with a bird’s-eye perspective of the gardens and trails winding through and around Gottsleben’s sculptures that are dotted across the mountaintop property.
The essential purpose of any structure — a house, a temple, or, for that matter, a sculpture — is to unite the cosmic, architectural, and human realms, Gottsleben wrote. A sacred structure should allow a sense of the Divine to be tangibly experienced, and also be a meeting place of heaven and earth, where the practical and the spiritual are balanced and integrated with the environment.
And unlike the massive chunks of stone Saugerties neighbor Harvey Fite used for his Monolith over at Opus 40, Gottsleben’s stonework for the house and gardens is more modest in comparison, while also being rooted in the cosmic under-workings and intricacies of forms found in nature and beyond – specifically the spiral – with delicate stones, sculptures, trinkets and surprises dappled throughout.
The spiral, Gottsleben wrote, is a universal form found in all cultures, since the very beginning of mankind's markings. It is the shape of our galaxy and of our DNA, and so unites the macrocosm of our cosmos with the microcosm of our physiology. The spiral is also a sign of movement and growth, describing a path and connection from the center to its periphery.
Gottsleben’s stone-building methods are supported not only by metaphysics, but by the security of a wet masonry approach as opposed to Fite’s dry stone technique that requires continuous maintenance as the earth shifts and weather moves through the cracks.
While Fite toiled over his magnum Opus mostly on his own for almost 40 years until his unfortunate demise, Gottsleben’s approach was much more akin to the communal spirit of the free-spirited Catskills; the Spiral House was “built with a lot of help,” and many of the local gardeners and masons are still lending a hand today to maintain his vision – as well as helping to update the landscape with native flowers and new beds, planted in a spiral pattern, of course, as well as expanding pathways for accessibility– as the Spiral House, and its grounds, begins to open to the public.
As preparations continue to ready the site for tours and events, Patty has moved back to the one-story dwelling on the property where her and Tom first lived, in sight of the Spiral House, and adjacent to a large, frog-abundant quarry pool. When we crossed paths in the kitchen of the Spiral House after our tour last week, she finished coordinating family visiting with a few of the staff members (I have to ask them now, you know!), she then turned to us and beamed proudly, and asked: Well, what do you think?
See the Spiral House for yourself with limited tours of the house currently open to the public by advance reservations only. Plan a tour
Visit the Spiral House
Spiral House Park is currently open by advance registration only for scheduled programs.
Special event: Ecological Gardening through the Seasons: Three Sessions
Saturday, October 25, 2025 from 1-3pm
Learn how to create beautiful gardens that are also healthy and sustainable habitats. LEARN MORE
Spiral House Tours
Guided tours are now available to the public by advance reservation only. Plan a tour
