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Mini-Spindle: Car Kebab.

Mini-Spindle: Car Kebab

Field review by the editors.

Berwyn, Illinois

Seven miniature vintage cars are impaled on a 23-foot-tall spike in the parking lot of a pizzeria. It's Mini-Spindle, a tribute to the original full-size Spindle -- an art car-kebab in Berwyn that was torn down in 2008, after being made famous by its brief appearance in the film Wayne's World.

Mini-Spindle was built by Berwyn artist Pete Gamen in 2022 (The original Spindle artist, Dustin Shuler, died two years after Spindle was bulldozed). Instead of using real cars, Gamen used sealed-up fiberglass go karts. This, he said, will shield Mini-Spindle from what had been Spindle's two greatest environmental enemies: rust and acidic pigeon poop.

Berwyn officials shamelessly looked the other way when Spindle was torn down for a Walgreens. Equally shameless, they came up with the idea for Mini-Spindle, and plan to promote it as an attraction for the 2026 centennial of Route 66.

Mini-Spindle: Car Kebab

Paisans Pizzeria

Address:
6226 Ogden Ave., Berwyn, IL
Directions:
Paisans Pizzeria. On the south side of Route 66/Ogden Ave., midway between Ridgeland Ave. and S. Austin Blvd.
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Nearby Offbeat Places

Large Hot Dog Topped With FriesLarge Hot Dog Topped With Fries, Cicero, IL - < 1 mi.
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In the region:
Spike People: Train Disaster Memorial, Naperville, IL - 19 mi.

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