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.
Egg Harbor Township, NJ
A giant purple California Raisin figure towers outside a roadside property on Zion Road, preserving one of the strangest physical remnants of the once-ubiquitous advertising characters. The oversized fiberglass figure is best viewed from the public roadside.
Elizabeth, NJ
This enormous railroad lift bridge raises its center span hundreds of feet to allow ships through the Arthur Kill between New Jersey and Staten Island. It remains an active piece of rail infrastructure and should only be viewed from legitimate public vantage points rather than approached on the tracks.
Atlantic City, NJ
A bronze Bert Parks holds a Miss America crown overhead beside the convention-center complex, inviting visitors to stand beneath it for a mock crowning. The interactive sculpture commemorates the longtime pageant host and Atlantic City's deep Miss America history.
Franklin Township, NJ
A large fiberglass dairy cow stands as a roadside reminder of the farmland that once dominated this part of Somerset County. The oversized bovine has survived development around it and remains a quick public-roadside photo stop.
Camden, NJ
A huge polished ship propeller forms the centerpiece of Camden's World War II American Merchant Marine Memorial. The unidentified propeller sits on the waterfront within sight of Battleship New Jersey and honors merchant mariners and Navy Armed Guard sailors who died at sea.
Hainesport Township, NJ
Danish artist Thomas Dambo built this roughly 20-foot troll from recycled materials collected around a former industrial property. Big Rusty crouches beside the remains of an old structure and has become the anchor for Burlington County's expanded public Troll Trek.
Roosevelt, NJ
A monumental sculpted head of Franklin D. Roosevelt sits in a wooded amphitheater in the town renamed for him. Roosevelt began as a New Deal resettlement community, making the enormous presidential head both civic monument and unusual roadside art.
Glendora, NJ
This round novelty house was constructed to resemble an enormous cookie jar, complete with a lid-like roof. It remains a private residence, so OddWay travelers should view the unusual architecture only from public roads without entering the property.
Morristown, NJ
A bronze man and German shepherd commemorate Morris Frank and Buddy, whose partnership helped establish The Seeing Eye in Morristown and popularize guide dogs in the United States. The public sculpture captures Frank walking confidently with Buddy at his side.
Hoboken, NJ
A life-size bronze Frank Sinatra leans casually against a lamppost on the Hoboken waterfront, microphone in hand and overlooking Manhattan. The sculpture provides a second, visually distinct Sinatra stop separate from the marker at his birthplace.
Hamburg, NJ
This elaborate fairy-tale castle was built in the 1920s as part of a children's attraction associated with a local flour mill. Its towers, figures and storybook details survive, but public access has changed repeatedly; travelers should treat it as an exterior roadside landmark unless an official opening is advertised.
Hamilton Township, NJ
Hundreds of large-scale sculptures are scattered through landscaped gardens, ponds and wooded paths at this 42-acre art park. Some installations recreate famous paintings as life-size three-dimensional scenes, producing deliberately surreal encounters around the grounds.
Lafayette Township, NJ
A life-size bronze replica shows the famously loyal Japanese Akita Hachiko joyfully reunited with Professor Hidesaburo Ueno. Installed at Abbey Glen Pet Memorial Park in 2016, it reproduces the paired statue created for the University of Tokyo.
Haddonfield, NJ
A life-size bronze Hadrosaurus foulkii stands downtown in honor of the dinosaur discovered nearby in 1858. Nicknamed Haddy, the sculpture gives Haddonfield a visible prehistoric mascot linked to one of the most important early dinosaur discoveries in North America.
Mays Landing, NJ
Hundreds of shiny hubcaps are stacked into a large pyramid outside a long-running hubcap business on the Black Horse Pike. The reflective roadside structure turns an ordinary pile of automotive parts into a deliberately oversized advertising landmark.
Verona, NJ
A turreted early twentieth-century mansion modeled loosely on a medieval Norman castle rises above the surrounding suburbs. Essex County now operates the estate as a public cultural site, with interior access tied to tours and scheduled programs.
Knowlton Township, NJ
Guided visits lead to observation areas overlooking packs of wolves, foxes, bobcats and other animals at this privately operated preserve near the Delaware Water Gap. Access is controlled by tour schedule and reservation rather than casual roaming through the property.
New Brunswick, NJ
Faces and figures carved into stone appear near Lawrence Brook within the Rutgers Gardens area. The weathered carvings are easy to miss among the landscape and are accessible only during the gardens' normal public hours.
Trenton, NJ
The Delaware River bridge carries the enormous illuminated slogan 'TRENTON MAKES THE WORLD TAKES,' first created to advertise the city's manufacturing power. The blunt industrial boast remains one of New Jersey's most recognizable pieces of infrastructure lettering.
Margate City, NJ
Built in 1881, Lucy is a six-story elephant-shaped building overlooking the Jersey Shore and one of America's oldest surviving pieces of novelty architecture. Visitors can tour the interior and climb to the howdah on her back during scheduled operating hours.
Sandyston Township, NJ
Artist Ricky Boscarino has spent decades transforming his home and studio into a fantastical mosaic-covered environment of towers, color, sculpture and found objects. Because Luna Parc is also a private residence, public access is limited to scheduled open-house events.
Rio Grande, NJ
Menz surrounds diners with decades of accumulated roadside kitsch, taxidermy and unusual objects. Among its best-known curiosities are a two-headed calf and an eccentric statue honoring the restaurant's one-legged founder.
Shamong Township, NJ
A giant fiberglass gorilla towers over Route 206 outside Mighty Joe's Gas, gripping a sign high above passing traffic. The old-school roadside figure is part of the American tradition of oversized advertising statues and has become a recognizable Pine Barrens landmark.
Blackwood, NJ
A towering fiberglass woman stands outside Werbany Tire Town, adapted from the classic Uniroyal Gal advertising figures once placed outside tire stores around the country. This surviving example has been repainted as 'Nitro Girl' and remains visible from the Black Horse Pike.
