News from the offbeat tourist attraction landscape of Roadside America.
Sightings Vol. 10, No. 5 April 25, 2014

1964 New York World's Fair Lives!

Actually, it's dead. But fifty years on, Fair fans can find fragments from Space Age New York City scattered -- as if by jet pack -- from Florida to Utah -- and there are still remnants to see in Queens. We've tracked down some of the best chunks for the next time you venture from your city beneath the sea or home on the moon.

Taboo Gators of the Sunshine State

Gator in human pose.You can eat a baby gator with dipping sauce, but you can't stuff one that's dead, pose it like a human, and sell it as a souvenir -- at least according to human lawmakers in Florida.

Statue of the Arson Dog

Arson Dog.A poll by readers of the Washington Post ranked this the most popular monument in all of DC. Fie on you, statesmen of yore; we want more statues of admirable animals!

A Happy Halfwit for Hayward

Happy Halfwit. Bruce Kennedy's clan of fiberglass Goliaths keeps growing. His latest addition is the Happy Halfwit, a Muffler Man once seen in the film Semi-Pro, hauled 2,400 miles from Flint, Michigan.

Itty-Bitty Western Pennsylvania

Model Railroad.If you missed your chance to see the Ship Hotel or the World's First Gas Station, you can visit them in miniature -- as well as a lot of other places -- on a giant model retro-railroad in Pittsburgh.

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Spotted by Tipsters

Railroad museum.Peter Bates provided a thorough review of the train ride through the swamp and groves at the Florida Railroad Museum, making the case that it appeals to far more than "children and train nuts."

Shoe Tree.In Maine, Amanda Stover rediscovered a luxuriant Shoe Tree in full bloom, nearly five years after we drove by too fast, apparently distracted by something else, and had erroneously written it off as gone.

Gorilla.Statues need your love, even if only for a brief photo opportunity. Cheryl Ann Rondinelli shared her friendly snapshot bond with the Big Gorilla of Crystal River, and reported on its current grooming.

Check out many more discoveries in the very Latest Tips.

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Time Travel to Yesterday's Roads

Yesteryear Travel.Senior Roadside editor Ken Smith (author of the book Mental Hygiene, about mid-20th century social guidance films) kicks off our Yesteryear Travel film series with a look at Homes on Wheels (1937) and Sinclair at the World's Fair (1965), a 14 min. film celebrating both dinosaurs and the gas station of the future.

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Latest News on Roadside America

Grohl alley.If those great old films show us anything, it's that the vacationscape is contantly changing. Tourist attractions come, go, move, improve, suffer hard times, unexpectedly rise from the dead, and occasionally fall prey to lowlifes. Join us as we follow this tumble-dryer cycle of life through news stories and attraction reports on Roadside America Twitter feed.

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Let's meet up later at the Unisphere!
The RoadsideAmerica.com Team

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Main image: 1964-65 New York World's Fair remnants.