Vacations.com

Are the days of playing “I Spy” on road trips over? With dvd players built right into the back of the driver’s seat and all sorts of downloadable entertainment for your iPod, maybe so. But what are we missing as we whiz down the highway staring at our electronic screens? Beautiful natural scenery? Sure. Elegant historical buildings? Definitely. Giant food? Yup, that too. Buildings shaped like food (and other things), called programmatic, mimetic, mimic, folly or novelty architecture became hugely popular (pun intended) in the 1930s when the idea of road tripping was relatively new.  Business owners along the Lincoln Highway, the first coast-to-coast highway in the U.S. were looking for a creative way to entice  road trippers to stop for a bite. Today, many of these structures are lovingly maintained, with a place of honor on the National Register of Historic Places. Others sit abandoned. Still, new ones occasionally pop up. So next time you’re on a road trip, take some time to look out the window and smell the donuts, or the coffee, or the watermelons…

Donut Hole – La Puente, CA

(Source)

It’s like a tunnel of love. Donut love. Built in 1968, this iconic drive-thru donut shop is a favorite with film scouts, tourists, and local late-night diners alike.

Teapot Dome Service Station – Zillah, WA

(Source)

Selling gas from a teapot was a great joke in 1922 during the Teapot Dome Scandal of the Harding administration. Oh how times have changed. This not-so-little teapot went on to join the National Register in 1985. Today, the political pot sits vacant but the Friends of the Teapot Association is raising funds to move and restore it.

The Coffee Pot – Bedford, PA

(Source)

A Lincoln Highway original, this perky pot was originally built in 1927 as a lunch spot next to a gas station. In 1937 it became a bar with a hotel behind it. Later it was abandoned and sat sinking into disrepair next to a drive-thru beer store. Happily, in 2003, The Bedford County Fair Association bought it for a mere $1. It wasn’t that cheap to fix, but the Lincoln Highway Heritage Park Corridor, a preservation group, coughed up $80,000 to move the building to the County Fairgrounds and restore it in 2004.

Pickle Barrel House – Grand Marais, MI

(Source)

William Donahey, cartoonist of the popular (in the ’20s) Teenie Weenies, had this little love barrel built for his wife in 1926 as a summer cottage on Grand Sable Lake. Rather than the romantic, writing escape the couple had hoped for, the barrel became a burdensome destination for curious site-seers. In 1936 the house was moved to downtown Grand Marais where it spent time as an ice cream stand, information booth, and a gift shop. In 2005, the Grand Marais Historical Society spent $125,000 to restore it to its original cottage condition complete with Donahey’s artwork and pictures of the couple.

Benewah Milk Bottle – Spokane, WA

(Source)

Built in 1935 by the Benewah Dairy Company, this is one of two of their surviving giant milk bottles. It’s advertising at its most honest. They wanted people to drink lots of milk.

Hood Milk Bottle – Boston, MA

(Source)

This bottle is keeping it dairy with an ice cream stand. Now located near the Boston Children’s Museum, the Hood bottle was built in 1930, moved in 1977, and recently underwent an extensive overhaul.

Longaberger Office Building – Newark, OH

(Source)

Branding just seems nicer when it’s a picnic basket doesn’t it? The Longaberger Company makes picnic baskets, so naturally, in 1997, the founder Dave Longaberger had the main office built to look like one. Wondering what kind of goodies might be packed inside? Well, they’re not edible, but contents include marble floors, a grand staircase, and a player piano. Who knew baskets brought in so much bank?

The Big Duck – Flanders, NY

(Source)

Long Island’s darling duck has moved around quite a bit since it was first built in 1931 by duck farmer Martin Mauer. He sold ducks and eggs… obviously. Now the duck is stuffed with souvenirs, but rumor has it that the town wants to bring back the duck farm. After all, agritourism is all the rage these days.

Giant Artichoke Restaurant – Castroville, CA

(Source)

Built in 1963 to celebrate the local crop, and of course, the restaurant’s specialty, this colossal choke looks good enough to eat. An interesting tidbit–early in her career, Marilyn Monroe was crowned the first Miss Artichoke Queen as part of Castroville’s Artichoke Festival in 1947.

Coney Island – Bailey, CO

(Source)

Craving a Coney Island Dog in Colorado? Sidle up to the counter and indulge your craving outside the beauty of Pike National Forest. Originally built in Denver in 1966, the stand was moved to Aspen Park in 1970 when the original owners’ business went under, and then to its current location in 2006.

Tail o’ the Pup – last seen in West Hollywood, CA

Source

Where’s the Pup? Despite being one of L.A.’s favorite kitsch landmarks, this little hot dog stand was forced to relocate in 2006 when the owner of the property refused to renew the lease. Originally built in 1945, the Pup has survived relocation before. Rumors still circulate that it’s gone underground, waiting in an undisclosed location until a suitable site is located. But it’s been awhile…

Randy’s Donuts – Inglewood, CA

(Source)

Mmm, donuts. Apparently the people of L.A. have more in common with Homer Simpson than we might have guessed. Dating from 1953, Randy’s is another favorite filming location and not-to-be-missed guilty pleasure.

Twistee Treat – anywhere U.S.A.

(Source)

The first Twistee Treat was built in Fort Meyers, FL in 1983. The company ceased to exist in 2000 but there are still plenty of Twistee Treat buildings out there. Some have been abandoned, like this one in Kansas, but many are open for business. The type of business might vary, but the cones are intact.

Orange World – Kissimmee, FL

(Source)

Next time you have a really nasty cold, try to get here. How could a giant orange filled to the brim with juicy vitamin C-filled fruit not cure what ails you? Built in 1973, Orange World is still family-owned and operated.

Water Towers

Many small towns have used their water towers to get their name on the map, often by advertising the crop or product they’re most proud of. Why not? They’re way up high and visible from a distance. Throughout the country, you can spot these novelty water towers dotting the landscape like oversized cocktail skewers.

Peachoid – Gaffney, SC

(Source)

Built in 1981, the Peachoid was built to remind people that South Carolina used to produce more peaches than Georgia, the “Peach State.” Gaffney is still peach central and holds a peach festival every year. The fact that the huge peach looks like a giant butt from some angles only seems to add to its popularity. Just watch out for unsuspecting drivers on nearby I-85.

Watermelon Water Tower – Luling, TX

(Source)

Since 1954, this mega melon has marked the home of the annual Watermelon Thump festival featuring a car rally, seed spitting contest (the record is 70 feet!) and the crowning of the Thump Queen.

Corn Water Tower – Rochester, MN

(Source)

It’s no surprise that corn is one of the most popular crops for oversized roadside tributes. This one dates back to 1931, and seems to have touch of that 1930s UFO look.

Catsup Bottle Water Tower – Collinsville, IL

(Source)

Erected in 1949 by the W.E. Caldwell Company for a nearby bottling plant, this beauty of a bottle has an active fan club and festival in its honor. I picture some sort of Druid affair, with people in cloaks circling the tower, but I’m sure I’m way off base.

Teapot Water Tower – Lindstrom, MN

(Source)

This amazing little teapot-that-could supplied water to the town of Lindstrom from 1902 to 1990 when it was respectfully retired. Nicknamed “Little Sweden”, Lindstrom welcomes people to town with the message “Välkommen till Lindström” on the side of its towering pot.

Honorable Mentions

Giant Lemon – Lemon Grove, CA

(Source)

It’s not a building or a tower but the giant lemon of Lemon Grove gets an honorable mention for being at the center of two urban myths: 1- that the actual lemon was built as part of a parade float in 1928 (forty-nine years before the existence of the town), and 2- that there is a body entombed in the concrete base. Freaky.

Hey Cupcake! – Austin, TX

(Source)

Kind of like a mini version of Randy’s Donuts, Hey Cupcake! gets automatic inclusion in my list because one of my favorite memories is trying to scarf down one of their delicious 24 Carrot cupcakes in 100-degree heat before the frosting melted off. I had never seen frosting melt like that. Delicious.

Field of Corn – Dublin, OH

(Source)

In 1994, artist Malcolm Cochran completed this work on a field once farmed by Sam Frantz, a pioneer of hybrid corn. A tribute to the area’s agricultural history? An ironic statement about over-produced inedible corn? The message is a bit open to interpretation.

Giant Pineapple – Nambour, Australia

(Source)

Australia has its own tradition of over-sized roadside attractions, referred to simply as “Big Things.” Unlike in the U.S., most of these objects don’t house restaurants or advertise local produce, they are straightforward tourist attractions, road trip-friendly, and designed solely for the purpose of picture taking. Good on ya.

Asahi Brewery Headquarters – Tokyo, Japan

(Source)

This sudsy glass of beer and accompanying cup of steaming coffee (or is it a flame?) take programmatic architecture to the next level. Or do they? There’s definitely no 1930s kitsch factor, but there is a certain amount of 1980s tackiness.  Perhaps in another 50 years, this will seem just as charmingly ridculous as a giant muskie.

Some people plan whole road trips around these funky foods, others just a side trip. But I think it’s most exciting when they are stumbled upon accidentally. Imagine you’re just driving on your way to Grandmother’s house and suddenly, on the horizon, looms the Peachoid. Has that type of thing ever happened to you? Or do you have your own local giant fruit or catsup bottle with an accompanying festival and queen?

Tags: asahi brewery headquarters, benewah milk bottle, catsup bottle water tower, corn water tower, donut hole, field of corn, folly architecture, giant lemon, giant pineapple, hey cupcake!, hood milk bottle, lemon grove, longaberger office building, mimetic architecture, mimic architecture, novelty architecture, orange world, pickle barrel house, programmatic architecture, randy's donuts, roadside attractions, teapot dome service station, teapot water tower, the coffee pot, watermelon water tower