What do Dale Earnhardt and Pink Floyd have in common?
Before we get to the answer, let’s take trip to North Carolina and see Dale Earnhardt Plaza, a one-acre park in Dale’s home of Kannapolis. This is where Dale learned to drive fast and turn left around Idiot’s Circle, winning the hearts and minds (?) of the NASCAR-centric Southeast.
The center of the one-acre park showcases a 9-foot tall, 900-pound bronze statue of Dale created by Arizona artist Clyde Ross. Dale stands there, bigger than life, with his muscular arms crossed and a knowing grin on his face. Though not wearing his iconic sunglasses, he is sporting his 1970’s era, pornstar-style mustache. Surrounding Earnhardt are various subtle tributes to the number three, his seven Winston Cup Championship (smoke ‘em if you got ‘em) trophies and more.
As long as you’re in town and you’re a fan of Dale’s (why else would you be there?), you might at well visit some of the other Dale Earnhardt places of worship like the nearby Dale Earnhardt Tribute Center, located just one convenient block away from the plaza.
Oh, what do Dale and Pink Floyd have in common? Their last big hit was the wall!
We all had them, didn’t we? Those cool metal lunchboxes we toted to school every day with our peanut butter and jelly sandwich and maybe, if we were lucky, a Jell-O pudding cup! Mine was a school bus with Mickey and his friends but I remember other kids who had Scooby and the gang, Bugs Bunny or maybe Barbie, if you were a “yucky” girl.
He [Allen Woodall] began collecting lunch boxes a mere four years ago, because, as he puts it, “they’re just so neat!” He now has more than 1,000 lunch boxes and related items, including thermoses, coolers and even tobacco tins that doubled as lunch boxes.
Of course, if there’s something to collect, someone will collect it and eventually decide the world needs a museum to house the prized collection. Lunchboxes are no exception! The “World’s Largest” lunchbox museum is in Columbus, Georgia (conveniently located near the old farmers’ market in the historic downtown area).
Proving once again that one man’s pile of trash pile is another man’s castle is Bull Run Castle in Aldie, Virginia. Built by John R. Miller from bits and pieces of scrap he procured for the task, the castle is a real fortress designed to withstand the inevitable Armageddon that’ll certainly take down civilization soon. Inside, John has (or more correctly, “had” since the castle has been sold) an armory, supplies to last until the inevitable looting dies down, strong defenses and secret passages.
In addition to the castle, people can visit the antique store inside. Better yet, why not spend the night? The castle is also a B&B so when the “big one drops” you can be safe and cozy inside. At least until you’re kicked out into the marauding hoards!
Ed Leedskalnin was set to marry his one true love in his hometown of Riga, Latvia but she stood him up one day before the scheduled nuptials. Now, I’m not sure which was the cause and which was the affect but old Ed went a little coo coo. He moved to Homestead, Florida and started building a castle out of coral. Big chunks of heavy coral. Being a creative sort, Ed named it Coral Castle.
The castle, was started in 1920, took more than 30 years to complete (Ed’s death being the point of completion). Because the undertaking was so massive (and Ed only weighed in at about 100 pounds) and because he was very secretive about his work, lots of strange rumors about floating massive rocks like helium balloons and using a “perpetual motion machine” began to surface. If asked, Ed would simply explain that he knew the secrets of the pyramids. In reality, others have reproduced his work with simple machines.
But, even if he knew the secrets of the pyramids, Ed didn’t know the secrets of good eating habits and he died of malnutrition at age 64.
The Dover Speedway in Delaware is known as the Monster Mile so what better mascot than Miles the Monster? In 2000, the management decided to build a giant monster breaking out of the racetrack and grabbing a car. It’s a great photo op and that’s why you only see the top half of Miles; if the entire creature were erected he would have been too tall to photograph well! Miles also has his own comic book; he’s quite the celeb.
Miles cost $6m, is 48 feet tall and weighs 20 tons. He’s hollow so it’s actually possible to go inside him, climb up to the car and sit in it! It must be one heck of a view but unfortunately it’s not open to the public. Whether you like NASCAR or not, it’s worth a visit to Dover Speedway to see Miles!
Capitalizing on the swelling of patriotic feelings after 9/11, The National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta, Georgia takes the visitor through some of the events that have made the United States what it is today. Exhibits include a Hall of Patriots, Symbols of America, the Olympics, First Responders and more. Although it’s easy to be cynical about this “national” museum being in Atlanta rather than New York or DC and the view of history presented within its halls is straight out of high school textbooks (with any impropriety completely absent), the museum does a good job of instilling a valuable sense of national pride.
“Point 7” is the official name of “The Castle” in Wilson Park, Fayetteville, Arkansas. It was designed and built by Frank Williams in 1979, after Williams was given the contract as one of several public art displays commissioned by the Arkansas Arts Council. Since that time, The Castle (as most of the locals know it) is a traditional site of graduation and wedding photos.
The existing concrete structure over the spring was reminiscent of small play fort. It was used by the local kids for just that purpose and I thought what better solution to this challenge then a fantasy play castle sculpture garden; in this case to be a little more interesting then the existing situation.
In concept my idea originally for the grotto design to the west of here, and then in the subsequent Point 7 designs was to replicate an architectural relic of the sort you might see in Europe or Asia.
The city was forced to give Williams some land in Wilson Park but they made it clear they didn’t want to have to maintain a work of art, beyond mowing the lawn around it (insert your favorite Redneck art joke here). Williams had other obstacles in his path:
I had no idea how difficult it would be to motivate much less train 5 inexperienced 16 to 21 year old kids; who just needed a job! All were from varying backgrounds, unemployed and none processed labor-intensive construction work experience; which is initially what we had to do.
With few exceptions neither did they have much concern, about what I wanted to do artistically. Most of it at that point was in my head anyway! That was how I approached this project. It’s how I approached my art back then and to some extent even now!
Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Castle in Fayetteville wasn’t fully appreciated in its day. But now, just try to take either one away–neither city would be the same!
Ave Maria Grotto, in Cullman, Alabama, is the life’s work of Brother Joseph Zoettl. The Grotto is comprised of models of buildings, primarily religious ones, made with concrete, seashells, stones, costume jewelry and other miscellaneous trinkets. The buildings aren’t to scale nor are they particularly accurate or proportional. Still, it’s rather interesting to see.
The builder of the miniatures at the Ave Maria Grotto was a Benedictine Monk–Brother Joseph Zoettl, O.S.B. Born in Landshut, Bavaria in 1878, he was maimed in an accident that gave him a hunchback, but luckily it did not hurt his ability to bend over and build the miniatures. He came to Saint Bernard Abbey in 1892. After becoming a Brother in the Benedictine Order, he was appointed to the power plant for the Abbey, and while there he developed his hobby of building miniature shrines.
What do you get when you cross a spherical water tower with 50 gallons of orange paint (in 20 different shades)? The Gaffney South Carolina Peachoid, of course. Apparently, South Carolina is offended that Georgia is called the “Peach State” when South Carolina grows more peaches. Built in 1981, the Peachoid has stood the test of time although rumor has it the paint was redone so it looked less like a giant butt and more like a giant peach. Oh, that big leaf? It weighs seven tons.
Reportedly the second largest tourist attraction in all of Catoosa, Oklahoma, the Blue Whale was built by Hugh Davis in the early 1970s as a gift for his wife, a collector of whale figurines. The whale sits on a small pond and when the locals started coming around for a swim, Hugh added a sand beach and a few picnic tables. Soon, it became another quirky little attraction on Route 66. Although Hugh is long gone, the Blue Whale is still maintained and may or may not be open for a tour when you get there, depending on whether or not the caretaker is available!
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