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 Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ''Hambarig'') is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,270 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is though ...
, 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 off of
Interstate 78
Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States that runs from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and North Jersey, terminating at the Holland Tunnel entra ...
, approximately west of the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
, 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, 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
External links
*
"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
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Miniature parks
Museums in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Railroad museums in Pennsylvania
Roadside attractions in Pennsylvania
1935 establishments in Pennsylvania
2020 disestablishments in Pennsylvania