Reports, news, and stories on quirky roadside attractions! Not all tips verified -- call ahead! Submit your own tip.
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Winslow, Arizona - Standin' on the Corner Park
A 1972 rock lyric has been transformed into a 21st century tourist magnet photo-op.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Address:
- 66 W. 2nd St., Winslow, AZ
- Directions:
- I-40 exit 252, then east on Route 66 (Second St.) Northwest corner of Second and Kinsley Ave.
- Hours:
- Lit at night. Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Burlingame, California - Little Man with the Hammer
Cartoon mascot of Western Exterminator keeps vermin away from Highway 101. Business moved in 2018, statue stored.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
Western Exterminator Company
- Directions:
- Western Exterminator Company, Hwy 101 just south of airport at Broadway exit, south side of Hwy 101.
- Hours:
- 2018: Statue removed.
- Status:
- Gone
Choppy Seas for Surfer Statue
The Botanical Society of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, a southern California beach community, wanted to honor the area's surfer culture. It raised $120,000, hired a local surfer-sculptor who had trained in Florence, Italy, and got what it believed was a great bronze statue, which was unveiled on July 22, 2007. Named "Magic Carpet Ride," it depicts a teenage boy doing a "floater" on a broken wave. "The expression on his face," said Michael Clark, a member of the Surf Sculpture Committee, "is one of, 'Oh wow, I get it!'"
Not everyone in Cardiff agrees. Especially loud in their criticism are what Clark calls "middle-aged surfer guys" (by middle-aged, Clark explained, he meant anyone older than 29) who insist that the statue is an embarrassment. The surfer boy is too pansyish, they complain; his pose is dorky. By extension, the statue ennobles surfers who aren't surfers at all, but surfing-wannabes -- the accountants and insurance agents and tourists who buy thousand-dollar boards, come to Cardiff, and get in the way. The kind of people that real surfers hate more than anything.
Magic Carpet Ride has been pranked by its critics, which takes some effort given that it stands 16 feet in the air and is next to a busy highway. "They put a pink, pleated skirt on it with a bikini top and a Mexican wrestling mask on its head," Clark told us. "Then somebody tried to put a top hat and cane on it, but they got caught." Clark, however, accepts the protests in a laid-back, southern California kind of way. "Everybody in Cardiff prides themselves in having their own opinion," he told us. "I totally respect that."
Clark says that there are no plans to replace the statue or to modify it to please those who find it offensive. Magic Carpet Ride, all 10,000+ pounds of it, will remain just as it is. "Frankly, I'm just pretty okay with it," Clark told us. "We did what we could. No agendas."
[08/26/2007]- Address:
- Chesterfield Dr., Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA
- Directions:
- I-5 exit 40, west on Birmingham Dr. for 1/2 mile until it ends, then south on San Elijo Ave. for three blocks, then right (west) on Chesterfield Drive. Statue dead ahead, in a recess on the west side of Hwy 101 at Chesterfield Dr.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Compton, California - Muffler Man
Classic Muffler Man fiberglass giant. Part of the Compton community for decades. In 2018, he was reported gone from the business property.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Directions:
- Corner of Myrrh and Crane in Compton. Hoard's Muffler Service or King's Auto Transmission business.
- Hours:
- June 2018: Reported missing.
- Status:
- Gone
Goleta, California - Where Japan Attacked California
We looked for the Historical Marker and it was like geocaching. Imprecise directions and no one could help us. From the directions and photograph on the list it seems that the marker may have been moved. We drove to the entrance to Baraca Resort and Spa, and the guy at the entrance didn't know anything about the marker. We pulled into the beach access parking lot by the tennis courts and, as stated in the directions, walked down to the beach. It took several minutes of searching all around before we found it. Before you get to the beach there is a "Beach House" building. Take the trail that runs behind the "Beach House," and at the fork in the trail that leads to the beach, on the left side, on a pole, is the historical marker.
[Wayne and Karen Brown, 03/24/2013]Where the Japanese Attacked California:- Address:
- 8301 Hollister Ave., Goleta, CA
- Directions:
- US-101 exit 110. Turn toward the beach, then at the stop sign turn right onto Hollister Ave. Drive a half-mile, then turn left into the parking lot. Park, walk along the path toward the beach. Pass the tennis courts, then turn left at the fork that leads toward the restrooms and food truck. The sign, on a pole, is at the end of the path near the restrooms.
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The marker was indeed moved from its unveiling spot at the museum to its current spot on the beach. Thanks for the point-to-point directions!