Bob here, waddling in with a roadside BOBortunity called Carhenge, submitted by Troy, our Week 39 Get Your Bob On Contest winner!
This Nebraska landmark stopped me right in my tracks. Imagine Stonehenge, made of cars!
Just north of Alliance, along Highway 87, 38 gray-painted automobiles rise from the prairie in a giant tribute to England’s famous Stonehenge.
Stonehenge’s history goes way back: in 1648, Sir John Aubrey identified its earthworks and great stones as a prehistoric temple.
Carhenge includes a circle of cars, three standing trilithons, a heel stone, a slaughter stone, and two station stones.
The circle measures about 96 feet across.
Some cars are buried trunk-end-down
Others form the arches and are welded in place.
A 1962 Cadillac gets the honour of serving as the heel stone.
Carhenge is a memorial and love for a family patriarch.
Artist Jim Reinders studied Stonehenge while living in England. After Jim’s father, Herman, died in 1982, the family began talking about a memorial on land Herman had owned in Nebraska.Jim came up with a wonderfully unusual idea: bring a little ancient inspiration to the Nebraska prairie, with cars instead of stones.
In the summer of 1987, approximately 35 family members helped turn that idea into Carhenge during a family reunion.Now that’s what I call a group project!Most families gather around a picnic table; this bunch assembled a monument.
The dedication of Carhenge took place in June 1987, complete with champagne, poetry, songs, and a family-written play. Beneath its quirky exterior, this automotive tribute celebrates remembrance, imagination, and what people can build together.
In 2013, Jim and his wife donated Carhenge and its 10-acre site to the City of Alliance, giving this unusual family memorial a lasting home in the community.
There’s even more to explore at the Car Art Reserve:
Spawning Salmon
Fourd Seasons
Various Car-sules
Carhenge’s unusual mix of cars, art, and history keeps drawing film and television crews, and more than 100,000 visitors from around the world.
A big, enthusiastic wing flap goes to Troy for submitting this BOBortunity!
Thanks for introducing us to a place where family history and roadside creativity share the same parking spot.
NEVER MISS A
