Known for his love of media attention, he would do anything to catch the eyes of the public. During the 1950s, authorities searched for the culprit of the Weinberger child kidnapping, and Daynor, seeing his opportunity, told the FBI that the kidnapper had previously visited his palace. Obviously not the truth, but an attention-seeking device gone wrong, Daynor was placed in jail for a few years. 

After trying to convince the Smithsonian that the “closest point to China was in Vineland” and inquiring about donating his brain to the well-renowned museum, he was asked to leave promptly. He also declared that the Cuban government stole money that he’d won in the Cuban National Lottery, all 1 million pesos. It was claimed that the money was later hijacked near the Waldorf Hotel in New York. Later, the Waterman Pen company denied Draynor’s request to feature the palace in their famous ads after he’d told them that thousands of his visitors used those pens to sign into his wondrous world. Oh, and Draynor locked up his common-law wife in the palace’s ticket booth during palace showings; she later left him, obviously.   

Daynor lived to be 104 years old, with no money toward the end of his century, buried in Vineland at Oak Hill cemetery with no known relatives. Soon after his death in 1964, the palace was mysteriously burnt down and bulldozed over five years later. Now, it is possible to visit the site, as there has been an effort to rebuild it. This time without a knockout room, hopefully. 

For more of Oona’s sarcasm and attempted wit, visit her website oonaoffthecuff.com.

Top Image: Boston Public Library 

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