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Statue of Liberty.

Junk Sculptures: Peterson's Garage

Field review by the editors.

Egg Harbor City, New Jersey

Tom Peterson has been an auto mechanic since he was 18, but he didn't make his first auto parts sculpture -- a robot -- until he was 31. He's made hundreds of artworks since then, fashioning them out of the worn-out auto parts that he replaces in his day job and mechanical junk that he finds curbside on trash days.

Scrap metal knight.

In addition to robots and skeletal dinosaurs and knights in armor, Tom has created a Jersey Devil, a Rocky Balboa, and his most famous work, an eight-foot-tall Statue of Liberty on wheels, made in 2007 out of old car parts, golf clubs, and gum ball machines.

Tom told us that his father and grandfather, who ran businesses at the same spot as his garage, had their DIY hobbies, but nothing equal to the scale of Tom's. He hates it when his artworks rust, and once told the Atlantic City Press, "If I had a lot of money, I would go out and buy stainless steel." Tom receives occasional commissions -- his work can be seen in other places around town -- but his real-world garage business usually keeps him pretty busy.

Scrap metal family.

Junk Sculptures: Peterson's Garage

Peterson's Service Center

Address:
308 White Horse Pike, Egg Harbor City, NJ
Directions:
Peterson's Service Center. On the south side of White Horse Pike/US Hwy 30 just east of Washington Ave.
Phone:
609-965-0671
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Hubcap PyramidHubcap Pyramid, Mays Landing, NJ - 7 mi.
Storybook LandStorybook Land, Egg Harbor Township, NJ - 8 mi.
Robot Auto Part SculpturesRobot Auto Part Sculptures, Hammonton, NJ - 9 mi.
In the region:
Big Champagne Bottle, Bayville, NJ - 38 mi.

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