Frank Lloyd Wright and
John Lautner are well known for their out-of-the-box architecture. Move Trends has featured their houses and some not so popular,
out of the ordinary homes. Now, we’ve uncovered some odd, non-residential architecture you don’t want to miss if you’re ever passing by these parts of country.
Coffeepot luncheonette –
Bedford, PA. Back in 1927, you could stop by for lunch and a cup of joe inside this 18-foot-high coffee pot, pictured here. Its ownership has changed hands many times since then, and for a decade or so it was closed, for sale, tattered and drooping next to a drive-thru beer mart. The people of Bedford thought that the Pot might have one more jolt left in it, and preservationists managed to save it in 2003. The Bedford County Fair Association paid $1 to purchase it, and the Lincoln Highway Heritage Park Corridor, an attraction preservation group, spent $80,000 to move the building across the street to the fairgrounds and restore it in 2004. Although not quite the same as a working coffee shop, eye-catching road signs don’t let you forget its historic presence along the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor.
Shell-shaped gas station -
Winston-Salem, NC. A symbol of a bygone era, when fossil fuel seemed inexhaustible, Winston-Salem’s clamshell service station is the last of its kind. Eight were originally built in the late 1930s by the Quality Oil Company, a Winston-based marketer of Shell Oil. The bright orange-yellow structure sits on a corner among small businesses and residences, with two tall globe gasoline pumps. A white wooden structure to one side was the station’s car wash. The approximate price of gas back then? Under .50 a gallon.
The station survived through the 1970s and ’80s as a lawn mower repair place. It slid into disrepair until a state historic society, Preservation North Carolina, stepped in and restored the faded highway icon in the late 1990s. Today it’s used by the organization as a regional office and info center about the station and other preservation projects.
Bedrock City –
Valle, AZ. Here, you won’t just find an odd building or two, but a whole city! Find yourself going back in time, to your childhood and even the stone ages, in the Flintstone’s neighborhood. With 365-days-a-year camping, this Bedrock City still rocks and is far from extinct. A Fredmobile tram loops in a circle and through Mt. St. Wilma (a volcano). The Bedrock Theater plays Flintstones cartoons with the audio broadcast over loudspeakers. “U-B-The-Flintsones” photo cutouts are available for treasured video and pix mementos. The snack bar has a menu including Fred favorites such as Chickasaurus Dinner, a Fishasaurus sandwich, and Gravelberry Pie. Also on site is a general store, police station, post office, jail, beauty parlor, cave man houses.
In the fickle entertainment world, where life spans are shorter than those of cavemen, the Flintstones franchise should have died long ago. And yet here we are, over 40 years after the original cartoon series was canceled, and most of us can still recognize Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty, and Dino. The Bedrock City theme parks, which for four decades have preserved the Flintstones legacy literally, in cement structures, have contributed to that – “Yabba-Dabba-Doo”!
There’s more to the 50 states than your typical tourist attractions. Use a free online trip planner and discover hidden roadside oddities on your next vacation.
