Tag: highway giants

Reader Don Hulen recently sent me an e-mail letting me know he and his partners have just established a brand-new roadside attraction in the World's Largest Toolbox.

Located in La Porte, Texas, just southeast of Houston, the newly remodeled building dates back to the 1950s when it served as a local watering hole. Today, it's a hardware store, which has just been made over with scale latches and handles. In addition, Don says there are plans for a giant handle on the roof.

La Porte Tool Box held its grand opening on November 11. It's located at 111 S. Eighth Street.

Lo, it is a solemn day for lovers of religious-themed roadside attractions, for today one of the most recognizable of our nation's giant Jesuses is now nothing but a charred metal frame.

The 62-foot-tall "King of Kings" statue that once rose from the pond outside Monroe, Ohio's Solid Rock Church was struck by lightning last night and set ablaze. The figure, which many detourists lovingly nicknamed "Touchdown Jesus" or "Drowning Jesus," had little chance of survival due to its highly flammable plastic-foam and fiberglass construction. (Video below.)

Motorists are already feeling the loss. So many gawkers were stopping along Interstate 75 this afternoon that highway patrolmen were forced to begin issuing citations just to keep traffic moving. Reports indicate that some visitors were scooping chunks of molten Jesus from the pond as souvenirs.

Yet, the church has already announced plans to rebuild the iconic statue. "It will be back," said co-pastor Darlene Bishop, "but this time we are going to try for something fireproof." ... Continued

The biggest catsup bottle in the world, located in Collinsville, Illinois, is currently enjoying a refinish in anticipation of its 60th anniversary.

The 70-foot-tall bottle was erected in 1949 above the Brooks bottling factory and served as the company's water supply. When the plant shut down, locals organized a preservation group to make sure the bottle was protected and cared for. In 2002, the landmark was accepted into the National Register of Historic Places.

Reinneck Industrial Coating, the firm working on the new paint job, says it should be ready in time for the 11th Annual Brooks World's Largest Catsup Bottle Festival Birthday Party and Car Show on July 12th.

When complete, the latest renovation will have consumed about 80 gallons of paint in four different colors: blue, white and two kinds of red.

As the Roadside Resort reported a few days ago, a gigantic piñata was constructed in downtown Philadelphia as part of an ad campaign organized by Carnival Cruise Lines. The 62-foot-tall burro, the centerpiece of a TV commercial being filmed for Carnival, was reportedly to be busted open with a wrecking ball, but the event was postponed due to a "technical difficulty."

According to new reports coming in, said difficulty was an objection by Philadelphia police who had fears, not of the danger of a wrecking ball swinging over a giant crowd of people, but of how that crowd of people would behave when the 4 tons of candy came flying out.

Philadelphia's National Public Radio affiliate WHYY reports that those who had gathered to witness the event became irate and started yelling obscenities at the extras hired to be in the commercial. Because the extras were dressed in business suits, the hysterical crowd mistakenly assumed they had something to do with organizing the event. ... Continued