Missouri has lots of great attractions, but some of the places in our state are a little…weird. Sometimes weird attractions can be quite entertaining or interesting, and sometimes they even draw tourists! From the artistic to the religious to the just plain strange, these 10 spots in Missouri will certainly make you stop and look twice.
1. Cementland, St. Louis
Cementland encompasses 55 acres that were once a cement plant. Bob Casilly purchased it and had the vision to create an amusement park of sorts. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2011 and the place sits vacant. It’s illegal to trespass, and local police caution that it’s a dangerous area.
2. Leila's Hair Museum, Independence
Hair wreaths and jewelry were popular during the Victorian period; when bored, wealthy housewives spent a lot of time weaving hair into home decor. The museum contains thousands of examples of this lost art form, which is actually really beautiful. It’s located at 1333 S Noland Road, Independence.
3. Ha Ha Tonka Castle, Camdenton
Entrepreneur Robert McClure Snyder purchased 5,000 acres, including Ha Ha Tonka Lake in 1904 and began improving the property. His plans included a mansion, styled after a 16th-century castle. He died just two years later, but his son finished the building project. Unfortunately, the castle was mostly destroyed in 1942. The ruins still stand, and the area is now a state park.
4. World's Largest Rocking Chair, Cuba
Visit the largest rocking chair in the world along Route 66 in Cuba. It’s 42’1" tall and 20’3" wide. Stop in at the general store for some interesting trinkets, too. 5957 Hwy ZZ, Cuba.
5. Glore Psychiatric Museum, St. Joseph
The Glore Psychiatric Museum was named as one of the "50 most unusual museums in the nation" and it definitely deserves that title. See displays of artwork created by patients, needlework made by a mute schizophrenic, and learn about techniques used to restrain and treat patients. 3406 Frederick Avenue, St. Joseph.
6. Subtropolis, Kansas City
Creative Commons
Subtropolis claims that it’s the largest underground storage facility in the world. At 55 million square feet (and growing), it’s hard to refute that claim! SubTropolis includes seven miles of paved road and even a railroad track. More than 50 companies use the storage offered at SubTropolis, and about 5 million square feet are leased. SubTropolis continues to mine the underground facility to increase its size. It's located in Kansas City.
7. Saint John the Baptist's Finger, Kansas City
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is home to a very strange relic - the finger bone of John the Baptist. It’s encased in a silver cage and is included in a large glass case with other religious relics. Apparently, it’s not as strange as you’d think to display a body part of John the Baptist - his right hand is displayed in a Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.
8. Pruitt Igoe, St. Louis
Pruitt Igoe was a public housing development in St. Louis that was built in 1954. The 57-acre site included 33 buildings with a total of 2,870 apartments. By the 1960s, it was infamous for its violent crime and poverty. The city began demolishing the buildings in 1972 and completed demolition in 1976. The area remains a vacant eyesore.
9. BoatHenge, Columbia
This work of art was created in 1993. It's like Stonehenge...only more entertaining.
10. Maxie the World's Largest Goose, Sumner
Sector001/Creative Commons
This 4,000 pound, fiberglass goose stands 40 feet tall.
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