Roadside America - Shartlesville, PA
Posted by: Janila
N 40° 30.782 W 076° 07.286
18T E 404994 N 4485305
Before the popular term "Roadside America" began to be used to describe extraordinary places to visit in each state, Pennsylvania had the original Roadside America in the little town of Shartlesville.
Waymark Code: WMZEA0
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/28/2018
Views: 3
It is said that the creator of Roadside America, Laurence Geiringer, would look out of his window as a child and see the hotel which used to exist on top of Neversink Mountain. Being a child, he didn't realize that this hotel was a real life size building. In his mind, it was a tiny building that he should be able to hold in his hand. And, thus, the obsession began with tiny representations of real life.
Geiringer grew up and began creating his own little miniature village. As more people began to want to see his work, he moved his displays from his home to a local park and, finally, to its current location in a former dance hall in Shartlesville, PA. And what an exhibit it turned out to be. An article from the Washington Post (
visit link) described it:
"All is in motion at this indoor spectacle. Planes buzz; cable cars whirr; street and house lights click on and off; and tiny people work, dance and play (there's even a cameo appearance by a minuscule Benjamin Franklin). Watch as a tiny coal-mine elevator moves up and down, fountains gush real water, and a little blacksmith plies his trade. Every 25 minutes or so, the lights are dimmed and the "Night Pageant" unfolds: Hundreds of stars appear on the ceiling, planes hover over a brightly lit airport and patriotic American folk songs boom over the loudspeakers"
Roadside America has been described as a button business. I realized the accuracy of that term as I took my grandchildren to see the miniature village. There are buttons every where. They do exactly as described above, things move, make noise, light up and totally delight the children who control what is happening in front of them. And there is just as much joy seen on the parents' faces as they watch the kids having a wonderful time.