Hamtramck, Michigan: Hamtramck Disneyland - Dmytro Szylak Folk Art

Built by the late Dmytro Szylak, the eye-boggling mass would spin in the wind and light up at night, accompanied by traditional Ukrainian folk music.

Looks closed. There's a "Private Property: Keep Out" sign in front.

Dmytro Szylak was born 100 years ago, in the Ukraine, on October 27, 1922. He emigrated to the U.S., worked on the GM assembly line, and when he retired he built Hamtramck Disneyland in the sky above his Detroit back yard. It's a salvage smorgasbord of wind-powered ducks, hand-crafted rockets, and dangerous-looking electrical cables. Dmytro would turn on the power - gingerly - if he saw you leave cash in his box labeled FREEDONATION. "I make small thing," he told us. "It working, then I make it bigger, bigger." Dmytro eventually ran out of sky space and passed away in 2015. A local art collective, Hatch Art, has maintained Dmytro's aerial art environment ever since.

Still going strong! Such a great stop!

Dmytro Szylak, the creator of Hamtramck Disneyland -- a colorful folk art mass with everything from Ukrainian washerwomen to Santa in a helicopter -- passed away on May 1, 2015. He might have been 92, or maybe 95. We visited his yard in 2011, and found Dmytro to be remarkably agile for his age and not shy about asking for donations.

The fate of his Disneyland is now uncertain. According to local media reports, Dmytro's will is being contested by several people, including his daughters, but those same sources report that Hamtramck's mayor definitely wants to preserve Dmytro's creation, both as a source of tourism and civic pride. Even if the mayor succeeds (and we hope she does), it won't be the same without the gruff Dmytro. [Thanks to Jim McNally and Jay for the tips]