Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Giant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
Pittsburgh, PA
Artist Randy Gilson transformed his North Side property into a brightly painted outdoor folk-art environment beginning in the 1990s. Visitors can walk through courtyards filled with murals, mannequins, mirrors, signs and repurposed objects during posted hours.
Bridgeton Township, PA
This county park contains a field of unusual diabase boulders that produce bell-like metallic tones when struck, turning the rocks themselves into a natural percussion instrument. A trail from the parking area reaches the boulder field, with High Falls elsewhere in the 128-acre park; bring a small hammer if you want to test the rocks yourself.
Shartlesville, PA
Roadside America was a massive hand-built miniature landscape that grew for decades into an elaborate model of small-town America filled with trains, buildings, lights and moving figures. The attraction permanently closed in 2020 and the collection was dispersed, so the former location is worth recording historically but there is nothing to enter today.
Erie, PA
Richard Schaefer transformed discarded automotive parts into an outdoor collection of enormous bugs, a rocket, "Automan," and a two-headed dinosaur along Hershey Road. The installation has existed for more than 25 years and SPACES still lists it as extant; there is a small roadside pull-off, but visitors should not park in the driveway.
Port Allegany, PA
Dedicated in 2017, this small public park uses etched glass-block towers, a glass castle and other artwork to tell Port Allegany's glassmaking, lumber and natural-gas story. Travelers can walk through it freely at Route 6 and Mill Street.
Plains Township, PA
Glacial meltwater and Kitchen Creek carved a chain of smooth bowls, chutes and potholes into the bedrock here, creating the formations known as the Seven Tubs. The features are reached on foot from the public recreation-area parking lot, and wet rock around the creek can be extremely slippery.
Tionesta, PA
A 75-foot lighthouse rises beside the Allegheny River in inland Forest County, far from any place where a navigation lighthouse would normally be needed. Jack Sherman built it as a family memorial and filled its seven floors with lighthouse-related exhibits; Peace Park and the exterior are freely accessible, while tower tours are offered only on selected dates.
Pleasantville, PA
A miniature roadside settlement of tiny buildings includes a school, diner, filling station and other hand-built structures beside Route 56. The display sits on private residential property, so admire it from the public roadside and do not enter the lawn unless the owners explicitly invite visitors in.
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh's long-running oddities shop sells and displays taxidermy, bones, funeral objects, anatomical pieces, strange artwork and other macabre curiosities. It operates as a normal storefront on East Warrington Avenue during posted weekly hours, so visitors can browse without an appointment.
Lewistown, PA
Five-foot fiberglass geese painted by local artists are scattered around the Juniata River Valley in honor of the region's Goose Day tradition. This pin marks one of the public sculptures in Lewistown, and a separate tracker map can be used to hunt down the rest of the flock.
Haines Township, PA
Woodward Cave contains large limestone rooms, active cave formations and the roughly 14-foot Tower of Babel, described as Pennsylvania's largest known free-standing stalagmite. Guided tours operate seasonally, and visitors cannot enter the cave outside the attraction's tour schedule.
