To a kid in Waukegan, the Viking boat treehouse felt like something out of a storybook. I was one of those kids, standing at Shirl’s Drive-In with an ice cream cone in my hand and staring in awe at the ship perched high in a tree.
In 1963, Gerald W. Lyons (1931-2022) of Waukegan created a treehouse for his four children. It was no ordinary treehouse, but one that sparked the imagination of an entire community.
The Viking boat treehouse project began when Gerald and Margaret Lyons’ children asked for a “tree-top house like the one on television.”
It’s likely they had seen Disneyland’s
Swiss Family Treehouse on NBC’s Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961–69).
Disney’s film Swiss Family Robinson introduced treehouses to a wide audience
and inspired a popular attraction at Disneyland’s Adventureland.
During this era, children throughout the United States built tree houses in local woodlots—some with the help of their parents—but always with the goal of having a place of their own where their imaginations could run wild. These treehouses were often made simply with plywood and cardboard in a tree’s canopy, creating a place to sit and dream.
Lyons was in the midst of carving a “dragon head” for a friend’s boat when his children asked for the “tree-top house.” Since the friend’s boat never came about, the dragon figurehead became the spark for building an out of the ordinary treehouse in the shape of a Viking boat.
The inspiration may have been close to home. Vikings in Waukegan were a somewhat familiar presence. Not actual Vikings, of course, but their Swedish descendants.
The earliest wave of Swedes arrived in Waukegan in 1891 with the opening of the Washburn & Moen Wire Mill. Their community gatherings featured music, food and a “Swedish Glee Club.”
In 1949, the club built a sprawling clubhouse on Belvidere Road next to Roosevelt Park. It offered entertainment, music and fish dinners that were open to the public. The clubhouse became a local favorite; and the Gerald Lyons family may have enjoyed fish dinners there.
Lyons, who worked in Waukegan for the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway as a yardmaster, considered himself a “jack of all trades, master of some.” Though he had no experience building a Viking boat, he had watched ship builders in Portugal while serving as a U.S. Navy photographer.
“Boats in the water are more trouble than they’re worth,” Lyons told News Sun staff writer Carl Luomala. He decided to build the 24-foot Viking boat perched on top of a 20-foot-tall stump of an old poplar tree in the family’s backyard at 17 Washington Park. It was as impressive as it sounds.
Perhaps Gerald Lyons’ Irish ancestors had a bit of Viking blood in their veins. After all, the Vikings invaded Ireland in the 9th century. His paternal grandfather, Edward J. Lyons (1877–1963), immigrated from Ireland in 1895, and opened a plumbing shop in Waukegan.
Lyons’ Viking boat treehouse was built for his family, but its towering presence made it a cultural icon the entire community enjoyed. His creativity and imagination brought the community together.
Those who stopped at Shirl’s Drive-In to enjoy a soft-serve ice cream cone with family or friends would stand in the parking lot marveling at the towering Viking boat next door. The more adventurous walked a short distance to the alley for a closer look. As one of those adventurers, I can attest to how our imaginations ran wild as we pondered that glorious oddity.
If you have memories of it—or know what eventually happened to the boat—I’d love to hear from you.
For more about Lake County residents and their fascination with Vikings, check out my Vikings in Lake County blog post.
Sources:
News-Sun Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, Libertyville, IL.
Ancestry.com
Treeographrer.com. Accessed August 22, 2025 The Real Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in Tobago – The Treeographer.
Positive News for You.Com. Accessed August 22, 2025. Building Childhood Dreams: Constructing a Treehouse in the 1960s - Positive News
