Roadside America was an indoor miniature village and railway covering . Created by Laurence Gieringer in 1935, it was first displayed to the public in his

Hamburg, Pennsylvania Hamburg (Pennsylvania German: ''Hambarig'') is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,270 at the 2020 census. The town is thought to have been named after Hamburg, Germany, but this is likely to have been a c ...

, home. The miniature village's popularity increased after stories were published about it in local newspapers, which prompted Gieringer to move it to a recently-closed local amusement park called Carsonia Park. This location, which supported more visitors, was open from 1938 to about 1940. To accommodate growing interest and build a larger display, Geringer then purchased land at what would be the miniature village's final location, a former dance hall in

Shartlesville, Pennsylvania Shartlesville is a census-designated place in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 455 residents. Shartlesville, founded in 1765, was named for the Shartle family of farmers ...

off of

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...

, approximately west of the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

, where the display reopened in 1953. After being closed since March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Roadside America announced on November 21, 2020, that they were closing permanently after trying, unsuccessfully, to find a buyer for the past three years, and that they would be auctioning off the display.

The display

The 3/8 inch to one foot scale display contains: * A 7,450 square foot, fully landscaped village diorama displaying over 300 miniature structures * Up to 18

O gauge O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...

trains, trolleys and cable cars running throughout the display * 10,000 hand-made trees * 4,000 miniature people engaged in everyday daily pursuits * Many rivers, streams and waterways * Interactive animations such as a circus parade, construction workers, saw mill workers and more that can be activated by visitors * 600 miniature light bulbs The display is constructed with: * 21,500 feet of electrical wiring * 17,700 board feet of lumber * 6,000 feet of building paper * 4,000 feet of sheet metal under the plaster work * 2,250 feet of railroad track * 648 feet of canvas for waterproofing * 450 feet of pipe * 18,000 pounds of plaster * 4,000 pounds of sheet iron * 900 pounds of nails * 600 pounds of rubber roofing material * 75 pounds of dry paint * 75 gallons of liquid paint * 225 bushels of moss * 25 bags of cement * Three barrels of screened sawdust * Three barrels of tar Roadside America remained unchanged since Gieringer died in 1963.

References

*
"Roadside America," ''The Washington Post'', January 2, 2005

"Tiny Town is a Big Attraction," ''The Baltimore Sun'', January 1, 2004

* ttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/roadside-america-model-railroad-a-tiny-slice-of-americana/ "Roadside America: A tiny slice of Americana" CBS Sunday Morning. June 3, 2018 {{authority control Miniature parks Museums in Berks County, Pennsylvania Railroad museums in Pennsylvania Roadside attractions in Pennsylvania 1935 establishments in Pennsylvania 2020 disestablishments in Pennsylvania