Reports, news, and stories on quirky roadside attractions! Not all tips verified -- call ahead! Submit your own tip.
Results 16 to 20 of 114...[Previous 5 items] Page of 23 [Next 5 items]
Wax figures, White House miniatures, and displays full of memorabilia present the march of US Presidents through history.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Address:
- 123 N. US-27, Clermont, FL
- Directions:
- On the east side of US-27 just south of Citrus Tower Blvd.
- Hours:
- M-Sa 10-4. Su 12-4 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 352-394-2836
- Admission:
- Adults $15.50
- RA Rates:
- Major Fun
- Clermont, Florida - President's Hall of Fame
Call me old fashioned, but despite the staggering array of presidential ephemera, I miss this museum in its original form some 20-25 years ago as the "House of Presidents," as I recall. When you paid admission, you were ushered into a small dark paneled room with a dozen or so chairs where you would sit down. The first 10 or so wax presidents stood just feet away from you, silent and staring out, which was a little creepy in itself. A light would come on the first president and an audio spiel would commence telling a bit about the president. This would continue until the last president was highlighted. You would then be ushered into another dark panelled room with the next series of presidents.
When you finished with the last room, you exited into a little shop where there was a hole cut into a wall -- you could peer into and see the audio equipment that played the spiels.
A 'score' of years later, I was a bit saddened to see those original figures now disheveled and stuck here and there amidst the huge collection of presidential items. These other things were quite interesting, don't get me wrong, but I felt sorry for these old wax Presidents, some of which were losing their wigs and fingers.
[Ron Jaffe, 10/24/2005] - Miami, Florida - Museum Where Elian Gonzalez Was Captured
Six-year-old Elian was big news when he was caught and sent to Cuba by the Clinton administration. And you can visit the very room where history was made! Informal unmarked museum in a home.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
Museum of the Battle of Ideas
- Address:
- 2319 NW 2nd St., Miami, FL
- Directions:
- The museum is the home of Delfin Gonzalez, Elian's great uncle. Find a parking spot on the street, walk to the front door, and knock. Fluency in Spanish is helpful. West of downtown and east of the airport, in the Little Havana district. From the Dolphin Expy/Hwy 836, take the exit onto NW 27th Ave./Hwy 9. Drive south about a mile, then turn left onto NW 3rd St. Drive five blocks, turn right onto NW 23rd Ave., then immediately turn right again onto NW 2nd St. Elian's house will be the third one on the right; it's sometimes decorated with flags and a big crucifix.
- Hours:
- No set hours. Delfin is often home during the week. Please be polite. Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
POW Attraction Honors People Deprived of Attractions, Among Other Things
The National Prisoner of War Museum, built at a cost of almost $6 million, has opened in Andersonville, GA. It honors America's 800,000 wartime POWs, who were imprisoned in places such as the Philippines, Germany, and North Vietnam, which are not known for their commitment to lighthearted tourist entertainment.
"Young people need to know that the freedom they have was purchased at a high price," explained one former POW, using that freedom to visit a POW museum.
Displays in NPOWM include life-sized models of Vietnamese "tiger cages," a cement cross fashioned by prisoners who survived the Bataan Death March, and a three-masted ship model made out of soup bones by POWs in the War of 1812. An exhibit depicting "the moment of capture" has gun barrels stick out of a wall in a room suddenly lit with moving spotlights.
Arizona Senator (and Presidential hopeful) John McCain told the opening day crowd that "Americans persevere," although the 13,000 Union soldiers who died in Andersonville's Civil War-era POW camp (now a popular tourist attraction) might justifiably question that statement.
[04/26/1998]- Address:
- 496 Cemetery Rd, Andersonville, GA
- Directions:
- From Americus, drive north on Crawford St./Hwy 49 for 11.5 miles, then turn right onto POW Rd to the museum.
- Hours:
- Daily 8:30 am - 5 pm. Closed some holidays. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 229-924-0343
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
- Lincoln's Last Bowel Movement
Loopy Lincoln Landmark: Framed and hanging on a wall in a museum.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
[Previous 5 items] Page of 23 [Next 5 items]
The Hall of Presidents in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, operated the same way (maybe it still does), with chronological groups of presidents telling the story of America "in their own voices." It took almost an hour to wade through all the rooms -- too slow for today's soundbite kids. The format eventually faltered in some places, and the Chief Executives clammed up...