Roadside America

109 Roadside Dr, Shartlesville, PA 19554, USA

Address:	109 Roadside Dr, Shartlesville, PA 19554, USA
Phone:	+1 610-488-6241
Site:	roadsideamericainc.com
Rating:	4.4
Working:	10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Matthew Bernard

After living near this attraction and wanting to stop in for over ten years my time finally came yesterday. Im not sure why this place received 5 stars because it is a 3 star location at best. OVERALL REVIEW: If you going there as a train enthusiast keep driving or you will be disappointed as they only have 3 trains moving. I would suggest the "Merchant Square mall" in Allentown, PA as a way better choice. This place is very outdated and looks poorly maintained. I would assume that they are just maintaining the place until until the last family member passes and it can be sold. The smell, layers of dust, and the outdated displays will leave you with same impression. The price is good if you and your family have to kill 20-30 minutes or there is an accident on the highway and traffic is backed up. DETAILED REVIEW: As you first pull into the near empty over sized parking lot you get that cliche roadside horror movie cliche in your head and the "Road Side America"sign solidifies that thought by having faded paint and a missing letter from the sign. At this point I am negotiating with my self as to whether or not I should still enter..I did. When you open the door you will enter into their overpriced gift shop littered with outdated products. The entry fee is the only thing that is keeping this from being two or one stars. It is very reasonable for the 20 or so minutes that you are there. After paying the entry, receiving a pamphlet guide and walking through the door you will be overwhelmed with the smell of mildew and feel like you are in your grandmothers attic. They pamphlet they give you will correspond with select numbers that are around the display informing you of the purpose of the scene. Some scenes have a button in front of them allowing you to control the movement of that scene (example, press button and trolley moves, circus moves,etc.) Be aware that not everything is functioning so the button may do nothing. I personally went there for the trains and was very upset to only see them having 3 trains running, and a bunch of parked trains. Every half hour they do a light show where they turn off the lights and the village lights up and they play horrible outdated "God Bless America music" through 1980s speakers. This was one of the worse parts of the attraction. I felt guilty leaving there, but hey, at least I can say I been there. I

Bob Bobertson

We were not expecting much, so when my friends and I walked in, our jaws hit the floor. It takes way longer than you think to see everything here. The detail is so intricate, and craft work so meticulous, that youll thrill to it all as you stare intensely. Plus, my group was not all white or Christian, so it started seeming odd as the more of the model world we saw, the more we noticed that all the little people inhabiting it were white. And there were a few churches. So we chuckled at that, seeing as how Roadside America is one mans lifes work from a different time, but what happened next floored us. We were totally unprepared. They have something called "The Nighttime Pageant", where they dim the lights into hues of purple and orange to simulate the sun setting over the landscape. Then all the lights go down, and all the miniature buildings light up. It looks like a beautiful nightscape and they have small lights in the ceiling that simulate stars. Then God Bless America starts playing over an old fashioned PA system and an old-fashioned slide projector projects a gigantic Jesus Christ next to the Statue of Liberty as the sun rises. It was a bona-fide religious experience, and my Jewish friends remarked to me that if they wanted to convert somebody to Christianity, this is where they would take them. A+, and God bless Roadside America.

Dan Ricords

Roadside America is the Miniature Indoor Village, it was built and expanded by a man, Laurence Gieringer, since the 1930s. It was eventually opened for Christmas and then to the public. The name "Roadside America" was coined by one of his sons. It consists of small model houses, churches, ballparks, trucks, trains, cars, schools, airplanes, a hot air balloon, boats, all sorts of natural landscapes: mines, hills, forests, canals, etc. Everything is so tiny! There is a raised plastic wall around the whole thing so children cant touch it. There are about 60 points of interest, that are actual recreations of buildings in reading, philly, nyc and europe. There are little buttons that you can push and it will power a train, airplane, playground, steamroller, etc. It is a self-guided tour, as mentioned by Sam M, they dont have student or AAA discounts, but still inexpensive enough to have fun there. 6.00 for adults, 3 for children, small children are free. The entire tour time is approx 1 hour. it is great for children, big and small. I really couldnt believe how much they had crammed into a small area. There is a gift shop nearby that sells souvenirs and meals. The only negative thing I have to say is that it was very drafty, and I had to bundle up my daughter extra tight. Wheelchair accessible, also no re-admittance.

adina groeschler

I have been to other minature museums both of which were better bc the exhibit of the miniture was not the only thing. If Roadside america included an exhibit of the creator his starting point his process of creation and inspiration. it would be better but to only have the exhibit for 8 dollars not worth it. the fact that u have an elevated view of the piece is good but it would be better if u had the view from all 4 sides not just the two long sides. also while we were there the AC was broken and the exhibit was hot had they been willing to give a discount for that it would have been nice to enjoy a piece of art in what feels like 80 degrees i could go to a sculpture garden. If it were posted on website about Ac we would have gone another time. Basically Just having the Main attraction and nothing else was not worth the price. On the website it talks about how the piece was displayed and took time to build maybe if there was a timeline of how it was built it would be more worth it. but as it is now its not worth admission. lastly in the corners near the emergency exits there were hidden exhibits almost missed there should be a sign for the hidden areas.

Jeffrey Anderson

I went here as a kid in the early 60s. it is a very neat, very very large Train display that was very well built by the owner. My wife and I have taken our grand children here at least 3 different times now, They love the place, so we go about once or twice a year, but Iam sorry to say that if the owners dont make some up grades and do some remodeling, things are starting to get run down, and need to be fixed and repaired. It looks like their stuck in the 1960s yet. But dont get me wrong, if you have never been here, it is worth the money to see it, and I know that when Interstate 78 was built it really hurt their business a lot because there is no exit at their location, even through you can see the building right along the interstate. You have to get off the interstate the exit before them or after them and double back to find them. I sure hope they can fix this place back up to what it once was so my grand kids can take their kids and grand kids there too some day!