Reports, news, and stories on quirky roadside attractions! Not all tips verified -- call ahead! Submit your own tip.
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- Mother of the Fountain of Youth
Luella Day McConnell turned an obscure hole in the ground into one of Florida's most popular tourist attractions. And she may have been a German spy.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
Where Camelot-on-Florida-Vacation would have hunkered down if the bombs fell. Closed due to budget cuts.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Directions:
- On Peanut Island in the Lake Worth Lagoon. Accessible by ferry or kayak from Riviera Beach Marina, 200 E. 13th Street, Riviera Beach, FL.
- Hours:
- Closed due to budget cuts: Oct. 2017.
- Status:
- Closed
James Brown: First Monument with a Jukebox?
Before it finally was erected, the life-size bronze statue of James Brown in downtown Augusta, Georgia, weathered its share of controversies. And now that it's finally up, storm clouds have gathered once more.
That's because Marion Williams, city Commissioner and pastor of the Friendship Baptist Church, who initially whooped up public support to raise the statue, now wants to enliven it with flashing stage lights, a coin-operated jukebox, and audio narrating the life of the now-dead [12/25/2006] Godfather of Soul.
"I proposed to put some lights across it, because James Brown was an entertainer," said Williams, "and maybe get something set up where people could insert money into a machine to hear 30 seconds of one of his Top 10 songs."
We've encountered statues that talk and sing before, but they're usually of anthropomorphized animals (There's also a chatty bust of George Washington Carver at his birthplace in Diamond, Missouri.). This extra bit of audio showmanship has always been free, at the push of a button. Will people pay cash to re-animate James Brown?
"This is something that would enhance people to come even more," Williams argues. "When they come to Augusta, they'd stop by and do that," He adds that the fee will bring in money to the city, which is probably still paying off the $40,000 sticker price of the statue.
"There wasn't a whole lot of people disagreeing with it," said Williams. One of them, however, is Deke Copenhaver, Augusta's mayor. Copenhaver feels that the idea is disrespectful to Brown's family, who live just outside of the city in Beech Island, South Carolina (And who, in fairness, have proposed turning Brown's house and mausoleum there into a Graceland-style tourist attraction).
Williams dismisses those who dismiss his idea. "A couple of people thought it might be a gimmick of some kind," he said. "But James Brown was an entertainer. He's always been entertaining. I just think this kind of thing would enhance it."
According to Williams, the Augusta City Administrator is now breaking down the costs of the proposed enhancements. Despite the mayor's misgivings, it's "very, very probable that this could happen."
[02/24/2007]- Address:
- 850 Broad St., Augusta, GA
- Directions:
- The statue stands in the median of Hwy 28/Broad St., between 8th and 9th Sts.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Sprawling back road folk art environment built by the late Eddie Owens Martin (St. EOM), with imagery that's distinctively pagan and occasionally PG-13. Restored to its original Technicolor glory and reopened in Oct. 2016.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Address:
- 238 Eddie Martin Rd, Buena Vista, GA
- Directions:
- From Buena Vista town square drive north on Hwy 41 for 1.5 miles. Bear left at the fork onto Hwy 137. Drive west 4.5 miles, then turn right onto CR 78/Eddie Martin Rd. Drive a half-mile to Pasaquan, on the right.
- Hours:
- F-Su 10-5. Closed in Dec. and July. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 706-507-8306
- Admission:
- Adults $10.
- RA Rates:
- The Best
- Eatonton, Georgia - Nuwaubian Pyramids of Georgia
There's a true roadside wonder alongside highway 142 between Covington and Eatonton, GA, just inside the Putnam County line, about sixty miles southeast of Atlanta. It is the headquarters of the Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, a property devoted to the teachings of one Malaki Zodok York-el. York, who calls himself the Grandmaster, claims he's from a planet called Rizq. Despite evidence to the contrary, his followers deny their group is a cult.
Whatever it is, these folks have constructed several buildings and shrines in ancient Egyptian style -- at least two pyramids, several multi-headed statues and other large, colorful, decorative items. From atop one of the pyramids, a constant "ummmmm" is broadcast from loudspeakers, to the bemusement of dairy farmers on adjoining properties.
It's quite a sight, and quite a story-- and the source of more than a bit of controversy in Putnam County. There's a guard at the gate, though members claim the place is open to the public. They have an open-house every summer -- late June, I believe -- in honor of the birthday of the Grandmaster. But it's well worth seeing as a drive-by attraction.
[D. Richards, 10/03/1999]Nuwaubian Pyramids of Georgia:- Directions:
- Was on highway 142 between Covington and Eatonton
- Hours:
- Gone - bulldozed.
- Status:
- Gone
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Update - March 2004: Nuwaubian leader Malachi York, 58, was convicted in January of child molesting and racketeering. He appears to be going away for a very long time.