Roadside America

Roadside America
	The entrance in 2009
Established	1935
Location	Shartlesville, Pennsylvania
Collection size	Railroad model trains and other model structures
Website	www.roadsideamerica.co

Roadside America is an indoor miniature village and railway covering 8,000 square feet (740 m²), created by Laurence Gieringer in 1935. It was first displayed to the public in the home of Mr Laurence Gieringer in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. Word got out about the exciting miniature village after a story was published in the local newspapers, and due to its popularity, Mr. Gieringer moved the display to a recently-closed local amusement park called Carsonia Park, where more people could come to see his spectacular miniature village. The display stayed there for a very short time, from 1938 to about 1940 when Mr. Geringer purchased land at the current site of Roadside America to build a larger display in order to accommodate the growing interest. In 1941 the exhibit reopened at the current location, a former dance hall in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, Exit 23 on Interstate 78, approximately 20 miles west of the Lehigh Valley.

The display

Interior View of Display

Mr. Geringer's Grand Daughter looking at a model house in the museum

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 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 has remained unchanged since Gieringer died in 1963.

References

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