Reports, news, and stories on quirky roadside attractions! Not all tips verified -- call ahead! Submit your own tip.
Results 1 to 5 of 56... Page of 12 [Next 5 items]
Sometimes we check out local history museums hoping we'll spot a unique, unheralded aspect -- a shrunken head, a lunchbox collection, a chunk of petrified sloth dung resembling a beloved mayor... that kind of thing. The day we passed through Barstow only one of its several museums was open, and worth a look.
The Mojave River Valley Museum focuses on the region's history, shaped by Native Americans, missionaries, miners, the railroads and the space program. The exhibit space is small and free, staffed with knowledgeable volunteers. Barstow residents have been preserving documents and artifacts since 1964 -- they archive thousands of photos and news clips.
Many of the local history items displayed are accompanied by explanatory signs. That's how we know that a big greenish metal cabinet, with bulky vacuum tubes visible through its glass front, was the "first commercial radio transmitter of the high desert."
The accumulated treasures are thoughtfully arranged. An exhibit on NASA's nearby Deep Space Network complex includes a dish model, but also a space shuttle model and a souvenir Apollo 11 Moon Landing drinking glass. Another display presents vintage cameras donated by a local photographer and historical society member. A male mannequin dons a donated military uniform, while a young female shows off a "Harvey Girl" outfit.
So no insane obsessive collection, no oddball sensation. But for some reason, we are transfixed by a still working porch light, deemed worthy of preservation, screwed into the wood paneling above a cabinet. A tag tied to it with twine reads: "This light fixture hung on Bob Bruce's garage on West Buena Vista Street since at least 1950."
[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 02/09/2013]High Desert History Collection:- Address:
- 270 East Virginia Way, Barstow, CA
- Directions:
- Mojave River Valley Museum, I-15 exit to Barstow Rd north, west side of Barstow Rd. and Virginia Way.
- Hours:
- Daily 11 am - 4 pm. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 760-256-5452
- Admission:
- Free.
The reconstructed room of janitor Henry Darger, where he lived for 40 years creating unsettling art that he showed to no one.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
- Address:
- 756 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL
- Directions:
- Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art. West of midtown, on the south side of N. Milwaukee Ave., just east of its intersection with N. Ogden Ave.
- Hours:
- Tu-Su 11-6 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 312-624-9487
- Admission:
- Adults $5.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
The late Frank Stoeber's giant twine ball continues to grow, added to by visitors with the help of Cawker City residents.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Address:
- Wisconsin St., Cawker City, KS
- Directions:
- On the south side of Wisconsin St./Hwy 24, a half-block west of Lake Drive.
- Hours:
- Lit at night. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 785-781-4470
- RA Rates:
- The Best
The World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas, was struck by an unexpected twine shortage this summer that slowed, but did not stop, its growth. According to Twine Ball caretaker Linda Clover, the ball, which broke the 10-ton barrier last year, is now up to 20,324 pounds and 8,180,078 feet of sisal twine. Donations from local farmers helped end the drought, and Linda told us that a family from Mongolia and "a couple guys from Antarctica," recently stopped by to add to the Ball.
"Thanks to people like you," Linda said, "the whole world knows about our Ball of Twine." Aw, thanks, Linda -- that tugs at our heart twine.
[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 10/24/2017]BTDT! Got the t-shirt! You gotta make your own excitement over the best piece of roadside americana. I even contributed to the mass! The phone number will get you the one and only clerk at city hall who has postcards and t-shirts for sale, along with a piece of twine to add.
[deniserows, 08/12/2016]
Page of 12 [Next 5 items]