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Permian Stonehenge.

Permian Basin Stonehenge

Field review by the editors.

Odessa, Texas

The officially titled "University of Texas of the Permian Basin Stonehenge" was built in the summer of 2004 by stoneworkers Connie and Brenda Edwards. The University thought that a nearly-full-size Stonehenge would make a good teaching tool -- and an alluring Druidic tourist attraction for the city.

Although the original Stonehenge took 2,000 years to complete, this one went up in only six weeks. Connie Edwards reportedly said at the time that he'd be happy just to build Stonehenges for the rest of his life.

Made of limestone slabs up to 19 feet tall and 20 tons apiece, Permian Basin Stonehenge is slightly shorter than the original, but it's exact in horizontal size and astronomically accurate. Although a plaque in front of the 'henge claims that the replica is "as it appears today in England," that's not exactly true. The slabs are blocky leftovers donated by a quarry, so they're approximations, not duplicates; the Stonehenge stands in a circle of reddish Texas gravel, not the green Salisbury Plain; and the Heel Stone, which marks the summer solstice, had to be stuck in the ground across a street. Still, it's a good replica, and the space-and-time-warp experience of any visit is enhanced by this Stonehenge's very visible neighbors, which include a Home Depot, a Staples, and a McDonald's.

Permian Basin Stonehenge

Address:
Preston Smith Rd., Odessa, TX
Directions:
I-20 exit at SE Loop 338/Major Rd. North on 338 about 1.5 miles, then left (west) on 42nd St. The campus will be on your left. Left into campus. Stonehenge will be on the right, opposite the tennis courts.
Phone:
432-552-2806
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

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In the region:
Roy Orbison Museum, Wink, TX - 50 mi.

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