Pennsylvania Attractions: Roadside America Offers Miniscule Attraction and Big Fun

A few weekends ago, I took my fiancé Dave to one of my favorite childhood memories: Roadside America. Roadside America is just amazing. Of course last time I was there I was a kid, so things looked a lot bigger- but this roadside Pennsylvania attraction is definitely one to take in.

The 1,500-square-foot attraction was started by brothers Larry and Paul Geiringer. The story is that when the two were young boys, they lived on a mountain and saw all these 'miniature' houses and buildings. They were fascinated by them, even upon learning they were regular size buildings-they hiked to find the miniature houses only to realize they weren't that tiny.

The two began to build models and train sets and their passion eventually led to Roadside America. Paul became and priest and moved to Ohio, while Larry kept making miniatures. He passed away in 1963; his wife took over until her death in 1973 and to this day, the same family runs Roadside America. It's just amazing that this dream was kept alive for generations. In fact, things are left pretty much the way Paul left them.

What is so cool about Roadside America is that all the miniatures are hand-made from simple tools-- the hard way-- but also as I like to say, "the heart way." The stained-glass windows on the little churches are all hand-painted. So, so cool. Display windows feature the very tools Paul used to handcraft the

Some things that you'll see at Roadside America in addition to streams, waterfalls, trains and trolleys are: Indian tee-pee villages; snowcapped mountains with winter activities and working cable cars; tribute to the coal, lumber, steel and energy industries; the Old West; rural farms with a hoe-down in the barn; a modern zoo; early colonial towns with great architecture; a circus; an airport and so much more. There is music playing throughout, as well as buttons you can push to make certain mechanical things work- very, very cool.

Every half-hour Roadside America tells everyone to take a seat and they play patriotic music as they turn down the lights so only the lights within the village are on- it is kind of like a sunset, night and sunrise show. Very cool. The only thing that I didn't like was in the slides was a picture of Jesus- that was unnecessary to me, but this IS after all a family business and they seem to have religious roots.

No matter how old you when visiting Roadside America, you'll feel like a total kid again. I should also mention there is a gift shop which of course sells Roadside America souvenirs, but also lots of train items and a selection of PA Dutch and Amish items, like Hex signs too.

Roadside America is located off PA-Route 78, Exit 23 in Shartlesville. A few nearby attractions are Crystal Cave and Cabela's.