Tips, leads, stories from travelers, plus Roadsideamerica.com Team reports on quirky museums, ironic monuments, and must-see oddities! Trip planning caution: Some tips may not be verified. Over time, attractions change, move, burn down. What's a vacation without a little risk? Submit your own tip.
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Anchorage, Alaska - Giant Tattoo Needle In Anchorage at Benson and Arctic, near McDonald's, stands tall a giant tattoo needle.
[Adam Scott Lankford, 06/05/2010]- Address:
- W. Benson Blvd, Anchorage, AK
- Directions:
- Up on a pole in front of the Anchorage Tattoo Studio. On the south side of W. Benson Blvd at the corner of Bering St., which is one block east of Arctic Blvd and a McDonald's. Across Benson from Carl's Jr and Carpet Warehouse.
Northport, Alabama - Ronald Reagan Ate Here McDonald's We attempted to find the concrete Ronald Reagan head alluded to in the photograph, and alas. The McDonald's we were directed to was indeed eaten in by RR, but it has been recently renovated, with flatscreen tvs and free wireless internet. There is a classy alcove behind glass next to the bathrooms with a bronze head, a plaque and a photo of him eating his Big Mac.
[katy blanchard, 05/04/2007]Northwood Shopping Center
- Address:
- 2300 Mcfarland Blvd., Northport, AL
- Directions:
- I-359 into Tuscaloosa. The road turns into Hwy 13/Lurleen Wallace Blvd. Continue north across the river into Northport. About a mile north of the bridge, turn west onto Mcfarland Blvd/US 82. The Northwood Shopping Center is there, on the north side.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
-
McDonald's Revives Reagan Memorial
On October 15, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave a campaign speech at the University of Alabama. Afterward, his motorcade pulled into the parking lot of the Northport McDonald's at the Northwood Shopping Center. It was a photo op, meant to show that the President was a regular guy. Secret Service agents grabbed two customers and sat them down next to Reagan to talk about University of Alabama football. Regular-guy Reagan turned to an aide and asked, "What am I supposed to order?" He apparently had never been in a McDonald's before.
That gaffe didn't prevent the voters from re-electing Ronnie in a landslide, and it wasn't remembered at the Northport McDonald's. But for years, Reagan's visit was. The owner displayed memorabilia from that day in the store: the $20 bill that was used to pay for the food that Reagan was told to order (a Big Mac, large fries, and a sweet tea), photos recording the event, and a plaque under glass at the table where Reagan sat, etched with the words "President Reagan ate here." But the plaque kept getting stolen, and when a new owner took over in 1995 the memorabilia disappeared. Clinton was President; Reagan was history.
A decade later, Reagan is back in style. On January 11, 2006, the old store was bulldozed and on May 8 a new $1.5 million "dressed up" McDonald's opened on the spot. The owner, Rick Hanna Sr., who for 11 years had ignored the store's most famous diner, has caught the shift in the political wind. Now Hanna hasn't just remembered Reagan -- he's enshrined him. The new store features a bronze bust of the ex-President, inside a case, with a halogen light shining on it 24 hours a day. Atop the case are the words "President Reagan ate here."
Other McDonald's have been customized with ritzy displays -- everything from miniature Eiffel Towers to Elvis Presley sneeze screens -- but we think that this is the first to honor a president. Clinton probably ate at a lot of McDonald's, too, but he won't get a bust until the winds shift again.
[05/12/2006] - Eureka Springs, Arkansas - McDonald's as a Pink Victorian House
There is a McDonald's in Eureka Springs that is interesting for its building design. Since Eureka Springs is famous for Victorian homes turned Bed and Breakfast, this McDonald's plays on that theme being housed in a building shaped like a pink, Victorian house. This is a refreshing look, given the typical in-your-face, glowing red and yellow buildings housing most McDonald's.
[Mike Dohm, 04/01/2005]- Directions:
- Mid-town Eureka Springs off Hwy. 65, right down from the B n B's
- Springdale, Arkansas - Airplane on McDonald's
The airplane on the McDonald's was permanently removed on May 29, 2008, due to a remodel of the building and liability issues.
[kd, 05/30/2008]- Directions:
- On route 412 just a few feet east of the junction of route 265.
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