Roadside America Miniature Village

[jloden]

As mentioned in my American Sign Museum thread, my best friend and I went on a road trip this past weekend. We had at least as much fun making random stops along the way as at our final destination. One place I have passed many times and always wanted to stop at is the Roadside America Miniature Village in Shartlesville, PA. Well, I finally got my chance and we made it our second stop along the way

The sign I've seen so many times from the highway - seems that the place has seen better days though.

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr


This may give you some idea of the scale, bearing in mind this was shot with the 14mm. This thing is huge!

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr


If you have the time to study it there are tons and tons of details in the miniatures, like this self-referencing sign.

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr


One of my favorites, the Victor theater complete with miniature light bulb sign.

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr


An outdoor church with side entrance, based on Italian-influenced architecture. Note the carriages; according to a sign, over 90 carriages were all built by hand over the course of several years.

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr


Another feature, besides the buttons where you can operate trains, trolleys, elevators, cable cars and various other moving components, is a patriotically-themed show. They dim the lights and simulate a sunset with all the village lights coming on, play a slideshow and music, and then a sunrise, complete with a flying plane, soundtrack, and lit up American flag waving in the wind. Definitely a product of its time

LebowskiFest 12 by jloden, on Flickr

 

[BBW]

Jay, although I've driven by Roadside America countless times, especially during my 4 year stint at college in Ohio....back in ye olden days, I never took any photos! Wonderful to see the old place again! Did you stay in the Dutch Motel? A good friend of mine always used to stay there on her way to visit her parents in Cincy. It really is quintessential Americana. Great pix!

P.S. Have you told us about the Lebowski Fest in another thread???:biggrin_old:

 

[jloden]

Jay, although I've driven by Roadside America countless times, especially during my 4 year stint at college in Ohio....back in ye olden days, I never took any photos! Wonderful to see the old place again! Did you stay in the Dutch Motel? A good friend of mine always used to stay there on her way to visit her parents in Cincy. It really is quintessential Americana. Great pix!

P.S. Have you told us about the Lebowski Fest in another thread???:biggrin_old:

Nah, we didn't stay over; Roadside America is only about 1.5 hours from me so we made it one of our first stops on our road trip, along with the huge Cabela's in Hamburg. It was a neat stop, glad I finally got to see the inside of the place!

We stopped for the night in Grove City, OH I think it was and then next stop was the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati (thread about that here).

And yes, LebowskiFest pics are up too

https://www.fujixspot.com/f13/12th-annual-lebowskifest-1438/

 

[BBW]

Just checked your other thread out. Very nice!

Ah yes, I know that Cabela's... I've gone on a MINI cult "run" (fast drive) through and around Jim Thorpe, PA and we always meet at Cabela's, though I've never been inside.:redface_old:

 

[jloden]

Just checked your other thread out. Very nice!

Ah yes, I know that Cabela's... I've gone on a MINI cult "run" (fast drive) through and around Jim Thorpe, PA and we always meet at Cabela's, though I've never been inside.:redface_old:

It's worth checking out at least once (well, unless you're anti-hunting or freaked out by taxidermy I guess...). They have a waterfall *inside* the building studded with an array of mounted animals, a whitetail deer museum, large collection of taxidermy including a section with African animals that has everything from lions and gazelle to elephants, fish tanks, a grill that serves venison, etc. It's a spectacle of a sporting goods store, that's for sure :tongue: