Access Atlanta > The Newcomer > Archives > 2008 > July > 08
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Take me to your Big Chicken: Georgia’s roadside attractions.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is a chicken, a big one, appropriately named “The Big Chicken.”
It’s the kind of thing the AJC puts on intern scavenger hunts on their first day of work, the unmistakable sorts of landmark used for giving directions — “Turn right two streets after The Big Chicken.” — that inspires its own hatching public art projects.
Kitschy roadside attractions are the kind of in-jokes a newcomer ought to learn when planning to make this a home. They’re gaudy, an endangered species and really: where else has a 65-foot fish leaping overhead?
I can (and have) spent hours perusing Roadside America, which lists among its Georgia favorites: a Statue of Liberty replica in McRae and Babyland General Hospital (birthplace of Cabbage Patch Dolls!!!!) in Cleveland and the World’s Largest Peanut in Ashburn. Apparently, there is a rival peanut in Durant, Oklahoma.
The Big Chicken gets its own entry on the site, but apparently isn’t a favorite. (For more Big Chicken history, check out this Marietta-approved site.)
Big fan of the Big Chicken. (Big! Ha! See?! I’m in on the joke! Oh wow. Need to stop now.)
What other roadside crack-ups, tourist attraction or highway exit? Share!
