Rummage sale allows a peek at notorious Kessler Boulevard mansion

The Kessler mansion. The Dolphin mansion. The pimp house. The Midwestern Vegas Versailles.

By whatever name you know 4923 Kessler Boulevard East Drive, you do know it. You've driven by it and gasped.

Now, come on in. Linger. Count the dolphin statues (Spoiler alert: There are 15, plus a sword fish). Behold the giant, round windows. Step inside the world of one of Indianapolis' most fantastical people, the mansion's mastermind, the remarkable, semifamous, pimp-turned-contractor Jerry A. Hostetler.

A part of the Northeastside curiosity will be open to the public for the first time from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 6-8. Its current owner, Chad Folkening, is having a rummage sale, a big one, mostly his mom's stuff. Scented candles, steak knives, mirrors, wine glasses, furniture, a range of collectibles, such as Precious Moments figurines and Hallmark ornaments, even a few Cabbage Patch dolls.

Barb Folkening, an interior designer, went through a period where she bought a lot of things, a lot. "If I saw things, if I knew it was a really good buy, I'd buy it," she said. She wasn't a hoarder, she said, just an "an obsessive shopper."

But despite the volume of her things and the other sale items, which are laid out all over what is called the ballroom, the dominant presence here is Hostetler, even though he has been dead for nine years.

For most of his adult life, Hostetler was a minor celebrity around Indianapolis. Maybe celebrity isn't the right word, but he made the papers early in life. He pleaded guilty to running prostitutes in 1964. He was barely old enough to vote, and police were calling him "Mr. Big."

But that trouble passed, and Hostetler went into construction, where he specialized in repairing fire damaged properties. Later on in the 1960s he was living with a wife and daughter in a three-bedroom ranch house in the 4900 block of Kessler Boulevard East when he began buying up his neighbors' ranch houses. He began cobbling the houses together, four or five of them, the exact number is no longer clear. He connected the houses using balconies and hallways and stairways. He dug a swimming pool, he dug ponds, he imported fountains, he built fireplaces. On top of the life-size dolphin statues, he added life-size gorilla statues and wet bars and those round windows that give the place the feel of a fish bowl.

By the time his creditors foreclosed on his campus, in the early 2000s, Hostetler was up to more than 23,000 square feet.

Former home of Indy pimp back on market

Chad Folkening, a Hoosier-born, Florida-based tech entrepreneur, bought the mansion in 2006 and put his own stamp on the place. In 2010 Folkening had the Baha Men, who in 2000 had a hit with "Who Let the Dogs Out," staying there during a Midwest tour. In 2013 he had a dozen young would-be tech entrepreneurs living there for a sort of capitalist boot camp he called VentureCamp1.0. One of the guest speakers was Jeff Hoffman, the founder of Priceline.com.

The bunk beds left over from that experiment remain throughout the house. They are empty. The house is in limbo. "We're still doing research," Folkening said on what to do with the property. His latest idea is to use it as transitional housing for homeless veterans.

Folkening has been trying to sell it off and on since 2012. His initial asking price was $2.2 million. A year later the price was reduced to $1,295,000, and last spring it again came down again to $862,000. "One cannot even begin to describe," said a description from the listing agent, Carpenter Realtors. Still there were no takers. He took it off the market this fall but plans to put it back up for sale in the spring.

Strange as the house appears from the street, it gets even weirder if you look closely. "Jerry was obsessed with lighting," Barb Folkening said. "One of the rooms has 65 lights." Another room has 38 light switches. Some of the outdoor light fixtures are disguised as turtles and giant snails. "Jerry was eccentric," Barb Folkening said.

Standing 6 feet 2 inches and usually weighing in the 300 pound range, Hostetler was physically imposing. He often wore a medallion or two around his neck, and they showed because his shirt would be unbuttoned to the sternum. He wore a diamond pinkie ring, too, and sometimes a ponytail. Although at one point a family man, Hostetler divorced as a young man and never remarried. Despite the home's massive square footage, Hostetler lived alone.

Later in life he suffered from diabetes and heart disease. He died at age 66 and was buried in Washington Park East Cemetery in an unmarked grave.

At his death 'Mr. Big' left northside home in shambles

His belongings have long since been dispersed, auctioned off to satisfy creditors. Only one of his objects is available for purchase during the rummage sale. Actually it's two objects, life-size bronze statues of a Revolutionary War-era boy and girl, each holding onto a lamp post. They're lighting fixtures, and they'll cost you in the range of $6,000.

Contact Star reporter Will Higgins at (317) 444-6043. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins.