Remember these?

Roadside attractions

They just don’t make ‘em like they used to

Story by Steve A. Maze Photos from the author’s collection

People have traveled the land for centuries, but transportation was once limited to walking, horses, mules and oxen. Trains became a popular form of transportation during the 19th century, but it wasn’t until after the invention of the automobile that travel began to resemble what it is today.

By the 1920s, travel had taken another dramatic step forward. Not only were more people able to own automobiles, they could also afford the expensive 20-cent per gallon gasoline that powered them. The increase in road travel created opportunities for other industries to branch out. It wasn’t long before an influx of hotels, gas stations and cafes dotted America’s landscape.

Many early travelers, however, carried their own food and bedding with them on longer trips since few could afford to dine out or stay in a hotel. Small diners and boardinghouses were available for those who could afford to pay for a room or meal.

It wasn’t long before roadside attractions took on a life of their own, but not the theme park variety. The gas stations, restaurants, cafes and hotels themselves actually became attractions.

Unique advertising styles, giveaways and business slogans became a part of America’s roadways in the 1930s and ‘40s. Gas stations, constructed to catch the attention of drivers popped up across America.

Remember the green dinosaur outside the Sinclair stations?

Frank Redford, influenced by Indian art and culture, built his first Wigwam Motel in 1933 near Horse City, Ky. The tepee-shaped buildings were large enough to accommodate a family in a comfortable fashion.

The food industry was not about to be left out of the eye-catching construction trend and created its own advertising themes and novelty architecture. Tail o’the Pup – a 17-foot long hotdog stand that appears as a mustard-dripping wiener – has been a tourist attraction in Los Angeles since 1946. (It finally closed in 2005, was stored in a warehouse and museum, but has been repurchased and

The unidentified service station in the 1920s photo at the left covered its gas pumps with a “parachute” canopy. Some readers will remember the “wigwam” constructions that once popped up as hotels. The one in the 1930s photo below left sold gas. Others, such as the one on the Old Bessemer Highway here in Alabama, offered a restaurant. Some Texaco stations in New York, mostly in areas with a heavy Dutch population, were built in the 1930s to resemble windmills, such as this pictured here. Some had rotating, illuminated blades, each advertising different items such as gas, oil, grease and service.

moved to Route 66 in LA for reopening this year.)

In 1953, Randy’s Donuts opened up for business in Inglewood, Calif. It prominently featured a giant donut mounted atop the structure to draw in customers. It worked! The donut shop is still in business.

Other industries jumped on the band wagon as well. In 1948, shoe magnate Mahlon N. Haines – aka “Shoe Wizard” – constructed a 25-foot tall stucco replica of a high-top work boot in Hallam, Penn. It was originally used as a guesthouse, but Haines later allowed honeymooners to stay in the structure for free. The tourist attraction later sold ice cream and today is a private home.

Interstate highways were constructed in the 1950s and many of the unique advertising themes were replaced with more modern buildings that sported neon signs. It seemed like a natural transition as technology made for better service (no more gravity flow gas pumps).

The brightly colored neon signs allowed motorists to more easily see their businesses from the highways at night. It was very helpful to know that a restaurant was “open” before pulling off the highway, or to be aware that there was “no vacancy” at a particular hotel.

Drive-up dining became popular since you could walk up to a window, place an order and eat in your car. Some eateries were even more convenient. An attractive teenage girl on roller skates would take your order and bring it to you while you sat in your car.

Afew themed structures were still being built in the 1960s with one being the “Flying Saucer” gas station in Ashtabula, Ohio. The station’s canopy appeared to be a U.F.O. hovering over the gas pumps. The flying saucer, however, was dismantled in 1999 and is now in the Crawford Auto Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Bondurant’s Pharmacy in Lexington, Ky., was built in 1974. A themed-structured building resembles a giant mortar and pestle. The pharmacy closed in 2011. The building still stands, but today it’s a liquor store, painted to resemble a cocktail.

A number of novel, theme-styled water tanks also exist.

The one in Collinsville, Ill., was built in 1949 to resemble a ketchup bottle to honor local ketchup maker, Brooks Brothers. An apple motif graces a big tank in Jackson, Ohio. A tank in Luling, Texas, appears as a giant watermelon, while a giant strawberry appears in the skyline of Poteet, Texas.

Stanton, Iowa, has a water tank resembling a coffee pot since the town’s claim to fame is hometown actress, Virginia Christine, who portrayed Mrs. Olsen in the old Folgers Coffee commercials.

And, of course, the peach tower in Clanton is appropriate since Chilton County is considered the Peach Capital of the South.

These roadside attractions began to disappear by the 1960s and ‘70s. The new interstate highway system of the ‘50s diverted much of the tourist traffic away from the old routes, and chain stores did in many unique small businesses.

A store near Eva was known for the 1939 Beechcraft mounted out front. It closed some years ago, but the plane remained. Now, says Eva city clerk Pat Hopkins, a local businessman bought the store and plans to reopen it. “He better keep the airplane,” she laughs. “It’s been there as long as I can remember.”

Unfortunately, only a fraction of these unique buildings are left standing today, including a couple of them in North Alabama.

One is the The Hangar, at the intersection of Ala. 67 and Ala. 69 in Cullman County, opened some years back as a restaurant. Housed in a Quonset hut resembling an aircraft hangar, it is now closed.

It is encouraging, however, that the modern trend for some municipalities is to paint or fashion their water towers with local themes.

Will this trend continue? I hope so.

It sure would be nice to drive down the road and see a green dinosaur looking back at you, or to spot a flying saucer hovering above some gas pumps as you make your way to a giant shoe in which to spend your honeymoon.

Ah … roadside memories. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.

Good Life Magazine

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