News from the offbeat tourist attraction landscape of Roadside America.
Sightings Vol. 13, No. 5 - May 24, 2017
Sightings

The Palace of Depression: Feeling Much Better

George Daynor's Palace of Depression was a multi-spired castle built in the 1930s in a Jersey swamp out of rusted auto parts and mud. It's a tourist attraction so fondly remembered that it's being rebuilt by fans. Close to completion...maybe 2017? We're optimistic. Story

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Bonding at Stumpy's Hatchet House

Stumpy's Hatchet House

Hurling axes and drinking alcohol -- what could go wrong? Stumpy's enables everyone's inner ax-thrower as a social fad and a sure way to bond with friends, co-workers, and family. Story

 

Yesterday's Stars at Wax Works

Wax Works

Independent wax museum, opened in 1984, goes its own way with displays on D.B. Cooper and Bigfoot, as well as E.T. and Daryl Hannah from her mermaid days in Splash. Story

 

Pyramid of Memphis: Cursed No More?

Pyramid of Memphis.

After two decades as America's largest cursed building, the Pyramid has reopened as a hunting and fishing megastore, with live alligators and a glass-floored observation deck at its top. Story

 

High Mass at the Church of Cannabis

Church of Cannibis.

A tourist attraction as well as a place of worship, the Church of Cannabis offers daily visiting hours for nonsmokers -- and a gift shop. Its hypno-artwork alone may cause altered states of consciousness. Story

 

Look, kids! Bonnie & Clyde's Death Car!

The Crime Doctor.

Bonnie and Clyde exited in a hail of bullets over 80 years ago -- but that didn't kill their allure. The crime couple's bullet-riddled Death Car became a hit attraction mere months after they died in it, thanks to master promoter and "Crime Doctor" Charles Stanley. The Crime Doctor's Death Car memorabilia survives in his Kansas hometown. Story

 

The Big Well - After The Big Tornado

The Big Well.

The World's Largest Hand-Dug Well (which you can walk to the bottom); the World's Largest Pallasite Meteorite; and a museum about its town, destroyed in a 2007 mega-tornado. All under one roof. Story

 

Gemini Giant: On The Launching Pad

Gemini Giant.

One of the most unique of the Muffler Men models, the Space Age Gemini Giant wears a helmet and holds a rocket. He's stood on Route 66 since 1965, but his Launching Pad needs a new owner. Story

 

Miss America Crowns You

Miss America Crowns You.

Larger-than-life sculpture of Miss America holds out a crown for the new winner... you! The beauty queen mixes features from New Jersey's two winners (1937 and 1984) and Miss America 2013. Story

 

Frank Sutton: Gomer Pyle Nemesis

Frank Sutton.

As Marine Sergeant Vince Carter, actor Frank Sutton was forever yelling on the 1960s TV series Gomer Pyle. His hometown immortalized Sutton with a bronze statue, in his familiar open-mouth pose. Story

 

Sea Blanket Springsteen

Sea Blanket Springsteen.

Stephen Zorochin felt that Bruce Springsteen's Jersey Shore soul was being neglected. So he sculpted The Boss wrapped in a blanket-like cape of sea shells and foam, and made him completely green. Story

*****

Video: Stanley Hammell's Insulator Forest

Obsessed collector Stanley Hammell is gone, but his yard display of thousands of old glass electrical insulators still stands... for now.

Insulator Forest.

Watch the soothing video

*****

Happy thoughts, happy moods,
The RoadsideAmerica.com Team

Spotted by Tipsters

Spotted by Tipsters

Cave-In at the Pushpin Mine! Tipsters dig frantically for signs of life in old attractions, drill for new discoveries, and discover the bottled ashes of the first person cremated in America.

Latest Tips

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Apps & Tools

Roadside America iPhone app Roadside America (iPhone)
13,000+ USA/Canada offbeat attractions, research targets, interactive Near Me maps. New places and "research targets" added frequently! Quirky categories, top-rated recommendations. Navigate with Waze, Google or Apple Maps.

$2.99 on the App Store (includes access to 1 of 7 regions); addtl. regions or "All Access" unlock is optional in-app purchase.
iPhone, iPod touch (iPad compatible)

*****

Roadside Presidents iPhone app

Roadside Presidents App for iPhone
US Presidents, VPs, First Ladies, even dastardly assassins -- visit where they lived, worked, played, died! Updated for faster performance, with place maps, a new President, and turn-by-turn directions via Waze, Google or Apple Maps.

$2.99 iPhone, iPod touch, (iPad compatible). Available on the App Store.

*****

Roadside America My Sights Planner My Sights Route Planner - Save places you read about on Roadside America, create a trip, and then email it to friends or export a .cvs file to upload onto a GPS device (Garmin, TomTom, etc.). Learn more and try it!

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Main image: Vintage postcard, Palace of Depression, Vineland, New Jersey