Google Sightseeing » Tennessee

Trick-or-Treat? Top Ten Towns with Halloween Names

Ian Brown — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:51:51 +0000

Ah… October 31st, the day when children everywhere¹ get to dress up in scary costumes and extort candy from homeowners under threat of terrible consequences! To celebrate, Google Sightseeing invites you to join us on a harrowing and haunting² trip around the world to visit our (totally arbitrary) top-10 towns with Halloween names.

At number ten the small town of Scary, West Virginia. Having the main street called Scary Road wasn’t frightening enough, so they named another street Big Scary Road!

At numbers nine and eight, we can just about make up the popular Halloween activity, by visiting Trickum Road and Treat Mountain Road, both in rural Georgia. Sadly they don’t intersect.

In the Netherlands we have a town named after a popular Halloween costume – Monster – which is number seven on our list. I’m not sure if it’s real graffiti, a real monster, or just an artifact of Google’s blurring efforts, but the town sign appears to have a ghoulish claw attached to the letter M!

Number six continues our monster theme. A touch of green face paint and a fake plastic bolt through the neck brings us to the tiny village of Frankenstein, Missouri.

Wikipedia claims that the town wasn’t actually named after Mary Shelley’s novel or its characters, but for a Gottfried Franken who donated land for the construction of a Church.

At number five we have one of the more popular decorations for Halloween parties – Spiderweb, South Carolina.

At numbers four and three we have a ghostly sound and a startled response – Boo, Sweden and Eek, Alaska.

Many children dress as pointy-hatted, wart-riddled old hags for Halloween, so (bending the rules slightly to include bodies of water as well as towns) at number two we have Witch Lake, Michigan.

We provide this handy graphic to help you understand how it got its name! Note the bonus Halloween content with Bat Lake just to the north-west!

No Halloween celebration would be complete without a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita, carved into a gruesome face and lit from within by a candle. So tied for number one we have a pair of communities called Pumkpintown – one in South Carolina, the other in Tennessee.

Happy Halloween from all of us at Google Sightseeing! If you know of other Halloween-named towns, please post them in the comments.

OK, not quite everywhere. ↩
No not really. ↩

Locations: Alaska, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Netherlands, South Carolina, Sweden, Tennessee, West Virginia / Categories: Street Views, Weirdness

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Quirky Border Towns of North America

Chris Hannigan — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:12:15 +0000

Have you ever walked through the front door of a building in one country and walked out the back door in another? How about driving along on the actual border line between two states? Check out our collection of the quirkiest border towns in North America.

Derby Line, USA

The small American village of Derby Line, Vermont actually lies north of the 45th parallel, which is the border between the United States and Canada. The village was first settled back in 1795, when surveying techniques were crude at best¹, resulting in a nearly quarter of a mile error. When the borders were finally adjusted south to their proper locations in the mid-1800′s, Derby Line was reduced to a tiny geographic size of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2).

Concerned about illegal immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol has tried to close streets which have historically run together with those of neighbouring Stanstead, but they have so far remained open.

If residents cross the border to either country, they’re required to report their citizenship and pay their duties upon their return. Frequent questioning and searches are a normal way of life. Some houses even sit directly on the border itself!

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House was purposely built on the border back in 1904. It was intended for use in both countries, but with today’s heightened border security library guests are required to park on their respective sides of the building (in their country) and sometimes have to report to customs before even entering.

There is a thick black line on the floor that represents the border between the two countries. A note on the library’s website offers this bit of friendly advice for folks who don’t take the line seriously,

“First time visitors and old friends of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House must be aware that the border between Canada and the United States that runs through our building is real and it is enforced.”

According to the picture, it’s entirely possible to read one side of your book in the United States, and the other side in Canada.

Bristol, USA

The state line between Virginia and Tennessee often gets lost between the cities of Bristol and Bristol. That’s right; two cities with the same name share the same border in two different states! To be honest, these two cities can really be thought of as one with two governments. In fact, they both share the same downtown district without very many signs that show the actual border along the way.

The cities of Bristol are divided by State Street, which happens to be the border for most of the town. On one side of the road you’re in Virginia, and the other side you’re in Tennessee!

There are some signs located around town to indicate the border between the two states, including this one over State Street which lists the two states on the bottom corners.

The Tennessee side of Bristol is also the home to Bristol Motor Speedway, a 1/2 mile racetrack that is home to numerous NASCAR events throughout the year. The facility is known for being one of the few that routinely sells out all 160,000 seats in advance each year. No wonder it looks more like a stadium than racetrack.

Bristol also claims to be the “Birthplace of Country Music” since it was where the first recordings of country music were made. Maybe that explains the huge guitar we found on the side of the road?

Calexico, USA and Mexicali, Mexico

Being quirky doesn’t always mean dealing with the border itself; sometimes you can just split the name like they did in Calexico and Mexicali!

The Mexican city of Mexicali (MEXIco+CALIfornia… get it?) is the northernmost city in Latin America and the border opposite of Calexico, California (CALifornia+mEXICO… we know you got that one!). As you can see from the satellite imagery, the much larger Mexicali is home to over 900,000 people, and its little sister Calexico just thrives on being across the border from such a large population.

This whole area is supposed to be the Baja desert, but in the early 1900s the sand was converted to farmland with the help of new canals made by both Mexicans and Chinese labourers. Some of the canals are connected to the nearby Salton Sea.

From above, Mexicali looks every bit as busy as it is on the ground. One of the most famous features has to be this roundabout known locally (and translated to English) as the “Circle of Death“. The name comes from the fact that, at best, traffic laws are only very loosely followed.

As with any typical U.S./Mexico border town, security is taken very seriously. Take a look at this long straight wall that marks the border between the two countries.

While this post focuses on North America, there are hundreds more quirky border anomalies around the world. Where’s your favourite?

This TIME article also reports that the surveyor may also have been drunk! ↩

Locations: California, Mexico, Quebec, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia / Categories: Buildings, Stadiums and Sport, Street Views, Weirdness

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Pigtail Auto Loops

Tom Howder — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:17:37 +0000

Routes can curve so completely that sometimes they loop all the way around and cross over themselves at a different elevation. Generally this happens in mountainous areas or in tightly-confined urban areas where there isn’t enough space to create a reasonable grade with a straightaway. This simple but dizzying solution goes by several names including spiral, loop and pigtail. I’m partial to pigtail simply for its whimsical imagery, of paths coiling and curving in concert with rolling contours, of roads behaving in magical ways as they wind their way through tough terrain.

Railway pigtails can be found throughout the world. One example was featured on Google Sightseeing several years ago, the Tehachapi Loop outside of Bakersfield, California. Automobiles climb tighter slopes but they also operate in smaller spaces so there are plenty of examples on roadways too. Pigtails can appear in city settings where motorway or bridge ramps converge in constricted downtown areas, or as a common feature in multi-level parking decks. I’m more interested in their rural cousins however, the roads that might be rather fun to drive!

Following a reader suggestion, I tossed the idea to the usual crowd at my own site, Twelve Mile Circle. The result presented here on GSS reflects contributions by several people and demonstrates the effectiveness of respectful online conversations.¹

Great Smoky Mountains, USA

A national park protects much of the Great Smoky Mountains, an offshoot of the Appalachians. Newfound Gap Road cuts directly through the park, a rare path through the rugged range, connecting park headquarters in Tennessee to protected areas in North Carolina. The road dips, snakes and curves along the gap, and finally pigtails near one of the park’s most recognisable features, Chimney Tops on Sugarland Mountain.

Black Hills, USA

Pigtail roads and bridges can be found in considerably greater quantity in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This suggests a great scenic drive for those interested in experiencing the pigtail phenomenon in person. Start first at Wind Cave National Park, and head north on Route 87 on a course towards Mt. Rushmore. The first pigtail will be experienced perhaps two km from the Wind Cave visitors centre.

Chart a path from there that involves Route 16A — Iron Mountain Road — approaching Mt. Rushmore from the south, and three more pigtails will appear in quick succession about 50 km (30 m) from Wind Cave.

This unusual concentration of pigtail roads and bridges is not coincidental: they were all constructed in the 1920s to provide an elegant solution to sudden elevation changes while slowing drivers down so they could enjoy the scenery.

Majorca, Spain

A particularly spectacular instance can be found on the road between Escorca and Sa Calobra on the island of Majorca, Spain. This one is simply stunning, both for the expansive view and for the complete visibility of the loop. No doubt others feel likewise as there is a pullout on the northeast side of the pigtail for people to stop and appreciate what they’ve encountered.

This 12.5 km road and its awesome pigtail, first opened in 1932, are a signature achievement of Italian road engineer Antonio Paretti.

Savona, Italy

If one pigtail road and bridge should get an award for sheer elevation gain, this occurrence on A6, the Autostrada Torino-Savona, might likely win. The road visible in the valley foreground is the same as the one on the viewer’s side of the guardrail. The road navigates several tunnels through the mountainside as it climbs to this point. This stretch was once known as the Autostrada della morte, the Highway of Death, until improvements were made in recent decades.

Besides the pigtail, it has all sorts of amazing curves and tunnels in general.

I wouldn’t mind going for a drive on any of these roads.

A special thanks to Thias, Aaron, AF, Joe, Ken, Mike Lowe, and Voyager9270. ↩

Locations: Italy, South Dakota, Spain, Tennessee / Categories: Bridges, Natural Landmarks, Street Views

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Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Ian Brown — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:44:28 +0000

Ripley’s Believe It or Not celebrates peculiar events and curious items through a variety of media (television, film, books, games) and a chain of museums around the world. Many of the Odditorium museums were created to look like they had been involved in some kind of disaster, such as the one in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The walls are riddled with cracks, as though the building had been rocked by a huge earthquake. Just one of several Ripley’s attractions in this tourist-destination city, it is a relatively recent building. The original museum here was destroyed by a real disaster in the form of a fire in 1992.

Tourist towns are a natural fit for Ripley’s bizarre collections which include genetically mutated animals (two headed creatures are a favourite) and relics from infamous events. In Niagara Falls, Ontario, visitors who tire of watching water flow over a cliff can walk up Clifton Hill where they’ll find a prostrate version of the Empire State Building, complete with King Kong.

The details are worth noting, including the person hanging out of a window and the helicopter on the ‘top’ of the building.

Meanwhile Blackpool’s beachfront museum has a veritable trove of exterior oddities, including Jeep embedded in the entranceway with an explorer climbing a rope to escape and a pair of legs sticking out of the wall. On the roof there’s a dinosaur wearing a large clock – maybe he thinks he’s Flavor Flav?

It’s a little hard to make out on the satellite view, but the Odditorium in Thailand’s resort town Pattaya has a plane crashed into its walls. Something similar also happened at the Ripley’s in the small town of Wisconsin Dells.

Another transportation-themed museum is found in Panama City Beach, Florida, where an ocean liner has ‘washed up’ several hundred metres from the shore.

The Street View car even pulled into the parking lot for a visit – giving us a close up look at the lifeboat!

In Branson, Missouri, there is another ‘earthquake-ravaged‘ building, while in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the museum looks as though it has been damaged by the many storms that hit this hurricane-prone region.

Finally, the Ripley’s museum in Guadalajara, Mexico, is not at all architecturally unusual, but Street View does allow us to see an exhibit – a silver Rolls Royce, which I believe (if Google Translate is correct) was once the property of La Doña Maria Félix, a notable Mexican actress.

You can learn more at Wikipedia, or Ripley’s official website.

Locations: England, Florida, Mexico, Missouri, Ontario, Tennessee, Thailand, Wisconsin / Categories: Buildings, Street Views, Weirdness

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Monumental Wannabes

Chris Hannigan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:33:59 +0000

If you’ve ever dreamt of travelling the world to see the world’s most famous landmarks, but couldn’t afford to finance the big trip, perhaps you might consider visiting one of the many not-so-famous sites that attempt to replicate those better-known originals.

Carhenge (Alliance, Nebraska USA) – As an alternative to the multitude of regular Stonehenge replicas, why not visit Carhenge? It’s a scale replica of the real Stonehenge, the only discernible difference being that instead of standing stones, it’s made from thirty-eight grey spray-painted cars.

Eiffel Tower (Paris, Texas USA) – When on a trip to Paris, you have to visit the Eiffel Tower right? Well, the folks in Paris, Texas must have thought so, as they decided to build their own 20m tall replica (65 feet). The twist however (in true Texas style), is that they topped it off with a giant cowboy hat.

Parthenon (Nashville, Tennessee USA) – One of the more impressive duplications¹ of a famous landmark has to be the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. This scale replica of the original Greek structure was originally built in 1897. Today, it stands as the centrepiece of Centennial Park, a large urban park west of downtown Nashville. Inside the structure you can find a 13m (42 feet) tall statue of Athena Parthenos that is dressed in more than eight pounds of gold leaf.²

Minitalia Leolandia Park (Bergamo, Italy) – Aside from visiting the replica of one building, you can also visit a replica of an entire country! Miniature parks around the world offer visitors small versions of cities and countries, usually in a beautiful, landscaped setting. From the satellite view of Minitalia, you can see that as the name implies, it looks just like a small Italy! On the ground level, visitors can walk from one city to another visiting tiny facsimiles of Italy’s most famous landmarks.

Las Vegas, Nevada USA – Perhaps the one location that has more wannabes than anywhere else is Las Vegas. Built in the middle of the desert, just about everything you see in this town can be considered fake in one way or another. On one end of the strip you’ll find a replica of an Egyptian obelisk that stands in front of the Luxor hotel, and on the opposite end you’ll find a replica of Seattle’s Space Needle. In between there are volcanoes, roman columns, the Eiffel Tower, and more!

Las Vegas is also home to a half scale replica of the Statue of Liberty, which is actually one of the most reproduced monuments in the world. Here’s a 35m (115ft) version in Germany’s Heide Park.

Google Sightseeing visited the original Parthenon and the original Statue of Liberty back in 2005, and in 2006 we took a tour of some of the best known replicas of Liberty, and several Parthenon impostors. We’ve also visited the excellent Dutch Madurodam miniature park, as well as taken an extensive tour of many of the members of the International Association of Miniature Parks.

Thanks to Feel Glass and many others.

Unless you’re fond of pink inflatable Greek architecture, like we are. ↩
Apparently her size makes her the largest piece of indoor sculpture in the Western World. ↩

Locations: France, Germany, Italy, Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee, Texas / Categories: Monuments, Street Views, Weirdness

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Top Ten Confusing Place Names

Ian Brown — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:59:42 +0000

Following the example of Alex’s Rudest Place Names post, I hereby present my top ten confusing place names.

For each of these sights, I picture a confused driver arriving in town, rolling down the car window and asking a passer-by “Can you tell me where I am?”

10. Smile, KY