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Hear the Gettysburg Address.

Lincoln Robot - Gettysburg Address

Blue Diamond, Nevada

Loopiest Lincoln Landmarks.

Bonnie Springs Ranch is fun, with its fake frontier town, petting zoo, reported hauntings and other desert amusements. Its wax museum is a hidden gem, displaying a series of lit dioramas of wild west life: a saloon, a mountain man battling a grizzly, and various denizens and luminaries of 19th century Nevada.

But our favorite thing is this unusual tableau of Abraham Lincoln. We know it's Lincoln because he sports a black beard, wears a stovepipe hat and black suit, and sits next to a sign: "Hear the Gettysburg Address $1.00."

We accept that a more realistic wax Lincoln was not available. But no attempt has been made to create the atmosphere in Gettysburg where the President delivered his 270-word, immortal speech on November 19, 1863. He was standing that day, not sitting behind a painted desk and a stack of mildewy books. It's as if we're seeing an alternative Abe years after he left office, un-assassinated, but scratching out a living by giving performances and selling autographed copies of his old speeches.

Don't get us wrong -- not a bit of this display should be changed. It is perfect. Put your money in the Gettysburg Address machine, and enjoy.

Bonnie Springs Haunted Ranch, Aging Wax Museum

Bonnie Springs Ranch

Hours:
Closed March 2019. Sold to real estate developer for McMansions.
Status:
Gone

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