Posted on 10/24/2005 7:33:49 AM PDT by pissant
There's nothing like a good old-fashioned road trip, or the roadside Americana found along the way. Many of these structures are odd, oversized curiosities designed to capture tourists' attention -- and hopefully, a few of their dollars as well. Some are iconic landmarks from another era, beckoning you to go back in time. Others leave you equally bemused and puzzled at their sheer existence. Somehow, "world's largest" seems to make its way into the oddities' titles quite often.
There are quite literally hundreds to be found across the nation, but here are some of the best. You can find them throughout the lower 48 states, and they make this list based on equal amounts of kitsch and/or cool, notoriety and/or infamy.
Number 10
World's Tallest Fountain... Fountain Hills, AZ
You probably wouldn't associate over 100 million gallons of water with the Phoenix area. Yet just east of Scottsdale, you'll find the town of Fountain Hills and its claim to fame in Fountain Park: the World's Tallest Fountain. Built in 1970, it shoots 560 feet skyward for 15 minutes every hour between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily. You may wonder, Impressive... but why does it belong on a list like this? Well, the nearly 30-acre lake is the result of over 100 million gallons of wastewater (the fountain spews 7,000 gallons of water per minute).
Granted, it's treated and recycled... but it's still recent wastewater. The town's website doesn't exactly brag about this, but it does advise: "In addition to the standard park rules, there is no swimming, fishing or boating in Fountain Park Lake." Armed with this knowledge, I trust you won't have a problem following that guideline on your visit.
Cool fact: Can't be there in person? The town's website features a webcam for viewing the spewing.
Number 9
Tail o' the Pup ... Los Angeles, CA
For all the superficiality in Southern California, it's refreshing to find something you can take at face value. Tail o' the Pup is just that. This hot dog-shaped stand on San Vicente Boulevard announces its specialty at first glance -- and since the mid-1940s, it's been satisfying the cravings of everyday folks and celebrities alike (it was reportedly a favorite of Orson Welles, among others).
The stars have worked here, too. Look for the big weenie in movies like Body Double and LA Story. This bit of West Coast Americana was spared from the wrecking ball in the '80s when the city designated it a landmark. That ensures our "California dreaming" can include sightseeing and a snack all in one.
Cool fact: Beware of lingering birds when you visit. They're accustomed to being fed, so they aren't shy about asking for a taste.
Number 8
Elvis City/Mini Graceland ... Roanoke, VA
Does a visit to Elvis' Graceland sound a little too mainstream? Head for the "Star City of the South" and its award-winning tribute to the King. Also known as Mini Graceland, this diminutive display includes scale replicas of Presley's Memphis home, nearby Tupelo birthplace and others.
It's all the brainchild of Don Epperly, who created it in the 1980s. When Epperly fell ill several years ago, family and volunteers stepped in to preserve his vision and allow us a tiny peek at Americana fit for a King.
Cool fact: The Graceland pool is represented by a kidney-shaped bedpan.
From a giant muskie to Tiny World, these roadside attractions have become part of pop culture
Number 7
National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum... Hayward, WI
Hayward is known for hosting the Lumberjack World Championships and the Birkebeiner cross-country ski marathon. But for a more sedate attraction, try the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum, built in 1976. Billed as a "shrine to anglers," you can spend hours taking in displays like the "Hall of Outboard Motors" and "Examples of Poor Taxidermy."
The real Americana is found outside in the oversized fiberglass Sea of Fishes. The grand poobah is the giant muskie, over 140 feet in length and about four and a half stories high. What's more, you can walk right inside and climb into its toothy, open mouth. This example of Roadside Americana is role reversal at its best.
Cool fact: You have to love the giant muskie. What other likeness of Roadside Americana has been featured as a Jim Beam decanter?
Number 6
Tiny World... Shippensburg, PA
If giant fish aren't your kettle of... well, fish, take a short drive west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The picturesque town of Shippensburg has been ranked 27th in the second edition of Norman Crampton's The 100 Best Small Towns in America, so it's only fitting to find Tiny World here.
In the 1980s, local resident Ernest Helm felt he needed something to keep him occupied while in retirement. Being a self-described "old wood butcher," he built a small-scale Victorian home for his cats (and yes, he called it "the cat house"). But one look will tell you he's more like a carpenter. His attention to detail is evident, especially in the additional buildings he added over the years. It's like an everyday version of the aforementioned Elvis City -- Elvis Fan City, perhaps.
Cool fact: Apparently, Ernest used to have a video of Tiny World shot by a local TV station, but he taped over it. You'll just have to shoot your own video when you visit.
Number 5
Dan Quayle Center and the United States Vice Presidential Museum... Huntington, IN
It's not easy being Vice President of the United States. Political opponents want to label you as clueless or an evil puppet master. Infamous spelling error and Murphy Brown criticism notwithstanding, the Dan Quayle Commemorative Foundation felt its man deserved a room of his own. Or in this case, a museum, which opened in 1993. Quayle's hometown of Huntington, Indiana hosts this tribute to him and the other second fiddles, boasting a slogan of "Second to One."
Enter the converted Christian Science Church to behold tributes to each veep on the first floor. Go upstairs and you'll be immersed in Quayle Central. Naturally, there are plenty of golf-related artifacts. But the real can't-miss properties are the "Quayle 2000" items from Quayle's brief flirtation with a presidential run, and his law school degree. It's now framed, somewhat in shambles, after being munched on by the family dog, Barnaby.
Cool fact: Curiously, not a single dictionary is reported to be on display.
Number 4
Fred the Town Dog Gravesite... Rockford, AL
There may not be warm regards for degree-chewing dogs, but everybody loves an underdog. In 1993, a stray wandered into tiny Rockford, Alabama. He was in rough shape, but residents took sympathy and "Fred" was soon on the mend. Fred must have reckoned life was better there than wherever he came from, because he hung around... and wandered around Rockford. He was, quite literally, the town dog.
Fred soon became a local celebrity, with his life and times featured in the newspaper column "A Dog's Life," as well as a feature on cable TV's Animal Planet. Life was good until just before Christmas 2002, when Fred succumbed after an animal bite. A few months later, a full-size headstone was donated by a businessman, and plans for a permanent memorial soon followed. Fred may be gone, but at least you can pay your respects.
Cool fact: Fred was nominated for induction into the Alabama Animal Hall of Fame in 2004.
Number 3
Cadillac Ranch ... Amarillo, TX
And you thought it was only a Bruce Springsteen song. There really is a Cadillac Ranch. The San Francisco art group Ant Farm successfully proposed the idea to Stanley Marsh III, and in 1974, part of Marsh's ranch became the Cadillac Ranch. Ten Caddys, ranging in vintage from 1949 to 1963, found their final resting place half buried at an angle, nose-first in the dirt. The term "instant classic," however oxymoronic, really does apply here: curious folks pulled off the highway and watched the construction even as it was being done. And since its completion, it has been a mecca for roadside Americana aficionados.
You can also spot it in TV shows, music videos and ads, including those for Cadillac rivals Chrysler and Lincoln. Graffiti on the cars is now countless layers thick, but it isn't necessarily forbidden. Besides, where else is leaving your mark on Americana condoned?
Cool fact: If you visit, be sure you have updated directions. In 1997, the Ranch was relocated a couple of miles from its original spot due to urban sprawl.
Number 2
Chatty Belle/Wisconsin Pavilion ... Neillsville, WI
This collection of Roadside Americana is in my hometown, but since I saw it nearly every day, I didn't fully appreciate it until after I moved away. Somehow, I took for granted the fact that the Wisconsin Pavilion is the actual structure that promoted the state at the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York, was relocated here in 1967, and has been puzzling passersby ever since.
If you pull in, you can also marvel over a replica of the world's largest hunk of cheese enshrined in the semi-trailer that hauled the real thing to the Fair. And while we're on the topic, you must have a chat with the World's Largest Talking Cow, Chatty Belle. Her recorded "voice" is always happy to describe herself, offer up some facts about cows, and talk about the rest of the grounds. She's modest, but she's found her way into commercials and even a Honda scooter brochure.
Cool fact: The Pavilion houses radio stations, plus a cheese and gift shop. Where else but Wisconsin?
Number 1
World's Largest Catsup Bottle ... Collinsville, IL
You say catsup, I say ketchup, we both agree it's big. This king of Roadside Americana is about a half-hour east of St. Louis. Truth be told, it's really a 170-foot water tower, erected in 1949 to serve the Brooks Catsup bottling plant it advertises. After decades of service and then deterioration, The Catsup Bottle Preservation Group led efforts to restore the attraction to its original appearance in 1995.
Its future was further brightened in 2002 when it was recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Folks across the country have taken notice of this gem. In fact, you can see it in action -- relatively speaking -- when the Travel Channel airs it on its program Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo in its fall 2005 season.
Cool fact: You can still buy Brooks catsup, but it's now bottled in Canada.
Honorable mention
World's Largest Basket... Newark, OH
We all raise a puzzled eyebrow in reaction to our bosses' ideas now and then. It was no exception when Dave Longaberger announced design plans for his namesake basket company's new headquarters: a seven-story basket. Nobody took him seriously at the time, but the World's Largest Basket became reality and was christened in late 1997.
Media outlets from as far away as Japan have featured the attraction. So yes, it's Nuevo-Roadside Americana, but it carries plenty of character and deserves an honorable mention.
Cool fact: Basket happy? You can also get your fix when you visit the nearly 30-foot tall World's Largest Apple Basket when you tour Longaberger Homestead in nearby Frazeysburg, Ohio.
That would actually be a blast to see.
Oh cool! I'd go to that!
It's hard to fit it in, though. It seems my tv's only pick up Noggin and ESPN.
Yep, We did the Corn Palace on our way back from visiting the NortDakota relatives. We got the Little House on the Prairie cookbook there.
The Big Duck Long Island
The Big Duck is a wood frame, wire mesh, concrete surfaced building designed in the shape of a Peking duck to house a retail poultry store. The building was constructed in 1930-31 on busy West Main Street in the town of Riverhead on Long Island, New York. It measures approximately 15 feet wide across the front, 30 feet long from breast to tail, and 20 feet to the top of the head. The eyes are Ford Model "T" tail lights. The interior is approximately 11 by 15 feet.
In 1937, owner Martin Maurer moved the Big Duck four miles southeast to Flanders, where it occupied a prominent roadside location near the duck barns and marshes of Maurer's new ranch. The Riverhead area, including Flanders, was the center of Long Island's well-known duck industry. By 1939 there were approximately 90 duck farms in the county.
Maurer's unusual tactic for enticing customers to purchase his ducklings was apparently a success. The Big Duck's prime location, on one of the main roads leading east from New York City to the Hamptons, earned it a lot of attention. Many criticized the Big Duck, especially in the 1960s and early 70s, but architect Robert Venturi claimed that it clearly combined functional and symbolic aspects of architecture, and therefore was noteworthy. In fact, Venturi coined the term "duck" to describe a building in which the architecture is subordinate to the overall symbolic form.
The Big Duck closed in 1984, and since 1988 it has been located in Sears-Bellows Pond County Park between Flanders and Hampton Bays on eastern Long Island. It now houses a retail gift shop operated by the Friends for Long Island Heritage.
Us Yankees drove down to Florida this past Spring. Was our first extensive roadtrip. Frankly the whole South of the Border tourist trap was a DUMP. I really think given half an effort it could be something really cool.
My 13 year olds sons favorite memory of course would be the giant fireworks supermarket since we live in fireworks prohibition area.
It's a lot funnier than "Go, Diego, Go!" which quite frankly I found very derivative. It's usually Tuesdays at 9, but it's on at 9:30 this week.
SD
It's too bad it's not still a poutry store!
Guess it will be a must see next time I'm in Tennesee.
We have been there a couple of times. It's well worth the trip. Especially the senic overlook where you can see 7 states.
One of these days I'm just going to have to have a beer at the Java Jive or stick my nose in the door.. I drive by it every day but have never been in there
Java Jive had Heidelberg in the cans last time I was there (about a year ago).
What is your choice of Tacoma waterin hole??
Sounds worthwhile in my book.
I like the Swiss down on 19th and Jefferson Ave but not on the weekends. Sometimes I'll stop in at the Harmon on Pacific Ave or Engine House 9 at 6th and Pine
We hit E9 every couple of weeks, because it allows kids to come in (have a toddler daughter). For my personal beer tastes, I like the Parkway Tavern on I street, The Swiss, and of course, The Spar. And the Brickyard is a good place to tilt a couple back.
There's a place up north somewhere where he gets REAL Coca-Cola.
Soooooo good.
That real Dr. Pepper will immediately take you back to your childhood. It is wonderful stuff.
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