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.
Columbus, OH
An approximately eight-foot bronze statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bodybuilding pose stands outside the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The sculpture honors Schwarzenegger's long connection to Columbus and the Arnold Sports Festival and is freely visible from the public plaza.
Novelty, OH
ASM International's headquarters is covered by a huge open-air geodesic dome built in the late 1950s from an aluminum framework. The office building itself is not a general tourist attraction, but the landscaped Materials Park and exterior dome can be viewed during the property's posted public-ground hours.
Dayton, OH
Artist Thomas Dambo created three enormous trolls named Bo, Bodil and Bibbi from reclaimed wood for Aullwood Audubon, turning the preserve into a giant-creature scavenger hunt. The trolls remain on the nature trails even though the original giant nest was removed in 2025; admission is required and reaching all of them involves roughly one to two miles of walking.
Put-in-Bay, OH
The forward section of the 1924 lake freighter Benson Ford was removed from the ship and placed on a South Bass Island bluff in 1986, creating a private residence that looks like a ship sailing through the trees. The house is not normally open to the public except for occasional announced charity tours, so view it only from legal public areas and do not enter the property.
Bristol Township, OH
Big Muskie was once the world's largest dragline excavator, working Ohio coal country from 1969 until 1991 before the machine was dismantled. Its enormous surviving bucket now sits at Miner's Memorial Park, where visitors can walk directly up to it, climb inside and see the mining memorials and overlook.
Carlisle, OH
This flying-saucer-shaped residence is an example of the Futuro, the late-1960s prefabricated plastic house designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. The Carlisle property is privately owned, so it should be viewed only from a legal public roadside position without entering the driveway, yard or property.
Cincinnati, OH
Architect and University of Cincinnati professor Terry Brown spent more than a decade transforming a small Hyde Park house into an organic structure covered with warped shingles, stained glass, porthole windows and a bright spiral staircase. It remains private property, so OddWay visitors should admire and photograph the exterior only from the public sidewalk without entering the lot or stairs.
Put-in-Bay, OH
Stairs descend beneath a working winery on South Bass Island into a small chamber lined with celestite crystals, some of them among the largest ever found. It was discovered in 1897 by men digging a well, and the tour takes in both the cave and the winery above it.
Newark, OH
More than a thousand northern white cedars planted beginning in 1942 form enormous letters spelling out DAWES ARBORETUM across the landscape. Visitors can walk near the hedge and climb the arboretum's observation tower for a better view, with entry subject to the arboretum's current admission and operating hours.
Dublin, OH
Field of Corn, also known as Cornhenge, consists of 109 human-sized concrete ears of corn arranged in rows in Frantz Park. The public artwork was commissioned in 1993 as a reference to the area's agricultural history and remains free to walk around during park hours.
Cleveland, OH
Playhouse Square's outdoor chandelier was installed in 2014 above East 14th Street and was promoted as the largest outdoor chandelier in North America. Thousands of crystals and LED lights hang above the theater district, and visitors can walk beneath it from the public sidewalk and plaza.
Springfield, OH
Ben Hartman began building this elaborate folk-art garden in 1932 after losing his job during the Great Depression. Miniature castles, cathedrals, historical scenes and hundreds of figures made from concrete, stone, glass and other materials fill the yard, which is preserved as a free public attraction from dawn to dusk.
Cleveland, OH
The Haserot family memorial in Lake View Cemetery features a life-sized bronze angel created by sculptor Herman Matzen in 1919. Weathering has produced dark streaks beneath its eyes that make the figure appear to cry black tears, earning it the nickname Angel of Death; visitors can see it in Section 9 during cemetery hours.
Bellville, OH
Jacques is a roughly 35-foot-tall fiberglass chef standing outside the Buckeye Express Diner along Route 97. The giant figure was restored after weather damage and remains an easy public-facing stop on the diner property.
Mentor, OH
Judy's Jungle is a collection of large fiberglass animals gathered outside an industrial property in Mentor, including elephants, giraffes and other oversized creatures. The quirky display is intentionally visible to passersby and visitors can stop to see the figures without entering restricted industrial areas.
Fairfield, OH
Jungle Jim's is a massive international grocery store that doubles as a roadside attraction, filling its aisles with oversized decorations, animatronics, themed storefronts and deliberately bizarre displays. Travelers can shop normally while finding features such as singing characters and the famous faux portable-toilet entrance to the restrooms.
Dublin, OH
This 12-foot stone portrait of Wyandot leader Leatherlips was created by artist Ralph Helmick and installed at Scioto Park in 1990 near the area traditionally associated with Leatherlips' 1810 execution. Visitors can walk into the limestone sculpture and look through it toward the Scioto River; the City of Dublin and Wyandotte Nation have also worked to correct a later, inaccurate "curse" legend attached to his name.
Newark, OH
Longaberger opened this seven-story headquarters in 1997 in the shape of one of the company's Medium Market Baskets, complete with enormous handles. The office building has spent years largely vacant and was again being marketed for sale in 2026, so treat it as an exterior roadside stop unless an officially announced tour or event specifically allows entry.
Loveland, OH
Harry Andrews began building Château Laroche, better known as Loveland Castle, along the Little Miami River in the 1920s using stone and hand-formed construction methods. The medieval-style castle became headquarters for his Knights of the Golden Trail and now operates as a museum where visitors can explore the rooms, towers and grounds during posted hours.
West Liberty, OH
Ohio Caverns was discovered in 1897 and contains extensive passageways filled with stalactites, stalagmites and other mineral formations, including the enormous white formation known as the Crystal King. The privately operated attraction offers guided underground tours during posted hours.
West Liberty, OH
Mac-A-Cheek is an elaborate nineteenth-century stone mansion built by the Piatt family and filled with unusual carved woodwork, painted ceilings and family collections. It survives as the publicly toured half of the Piatt Castles property, with access generally limited to seasonal scheduled hours.
Wapakoneta, OH
Jim Bowsher began assembling the Temple of Tolerance from enormous stones, found objects and historic artifacts in his Wapakoneta backyard in 1981. Despite looking like a private residential property from the street, the stone sanctuary is intentionally open to the public for free; visitors should use the designated entrance and stay within the areas opened for guests.
Cleveland, OH
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen designed this enormous steel office stamp for Standard Oil of Ohio in the 1980s, but it spent years in storage before finally being installed in Willard Park. The sculpture measures roughly 28 feet tall and 48 feet long and spells out "FREE," making it one of downtown Cleveland's easiest oversized-object stops.
Fairborn, OH
The Secret Chamber is an oddities shop and gallery packed with sideshow-style specimens, skeletons, unusual taxidermy, purported haunted objects and macabre artwork. It opened in 2017 and remains a public retail stop, making it an easy detour for travelers who want something stranger than a conventional museum.
