Tuesday, September 4, 2007

America's Wackiest Roadside Attractions


The World's Largest Floating Loon looms over a Minnesota lake.See more pictures of roadside attractions.
Exactly one century later, in 1903, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson of Burlington, Vermont, completed North America's first transcontinental automobile crossing. Accompanied by a mechanic and a goggled bulldog named Bud, Jackson traveled 4,500 miles.
This excursion also took quite a while by today's standards: 64 days, over which time the trio drove on rocky pathways that could hardly be called roads and experienced just about every mechanical problem imaginable. It almost goes without saying that this trip, likewise, was no vacation.

But things were on the cusp of change as the Automobile Age was about to commence. An army of laborers began working overtime connecting the nation's cities with ribbons of blacktop.
The Great Northern Railway launched the "See America First" campaign. The campaign stoked fires that blazed into the country's modern obsession with cross-country travel.
In this article, you'll learn about the quirky, lively, amazing roadside attractions that came into fashion during the height of our nation's fascination with the Great American Road Trip, including:

Roadside LandmarksUnique roadside landmarks dot America's landscape. From the iconic Hollywood sign to the lesser-known -- but equally delightful -- Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Roadside StatuesSuperman stands guard over Metropolis, Illinois, while Hobo Joe casually greets visitors to Buckeye, Arizona. Statues both serious and whimsical pull travelers from the highways for a gander.

Roadside Architectural WondersSee some of the world's most amazing architectural structures -- London Bridge, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the Eiffel Tower -- without a passport.
World's Biggest Roadside AttractionsFrom gigantic vegetables to tremendously-sized tires, explore the hotly-contested category of "world's biggest" in these pages.

Gas, Food, and Lodging LandmarksA tip of the hat to the Old West, a tribute to an iconic burger boy, and a giant penguin make up just a few of the roadside attractions designed to bring folks in for a gallon of gas, a bite to eat, and a pillow on which to rest their heads.

Roadside ParanormalWhen thinking about the cosmos, North Americans get imaginative. Learn about The Thing? in Benson, Arizona, or check out the UFO Landing Pad in Alberta, Canada.

1 comment:

Clyde said...

I came here looking for Clarkson and McEntire. Since I can't comment on that I'll comment on this. You forgot the world's biggest ball of twine...lol.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin

Get The Official Blog-o-Rama Widget!

Keep up with all the latest info on the blog-o-rama by posting this to your blog or my space page. You can also scroll this widget to go directly to the latest article that you are interested in. Give it a try!

ShareThis