The Quirky Wonder of Carhenge

Built in 1987, Carhenge is the Americanized recreation of its 4,000-year-old sibling, Stonehenge. Jim Reinders’s summer project was built to memorialize his father, inspired by his time living in England where he studied the Neolithic Stonehenge. Reinders’s recreation is modeled on the same shape and proportions of the original site’s current state, juxtaposing American car culture with the allure of long-lost civilizations.

© Ermanno Iselle | Dreamstime

All the pieces come from the Golden Age of the American automobile industry; 39 classic cars from the 50s and 60s painted gray, the heel stone being a 1962 Cadillac. There were three imports part of the original structure, but they were subsequently dragged away and buried, with the headstone reading, “Here lie three bones of foreign cars. They served our purpose while Detroit slept. Now Detroit is awake and America’s great!”

© Ermanno Iselle | Dreamstime

Carhenge wasn’t always appreciated for its quirky sense of art. For some time, residents of nearby Alliance, Neb., were not fans of the site, wanting it to be torn down. The Department of Highways wanted to have it declared a junkyard, but eventually Alliance grew to love the wacky attraction. People from all 50 states took interest in Carhenge, often stopping on their way to Mount Rushmore. In 2006, the town bought the site and built a visitor center to make it official. Carhenge even inspired others to make their own automobile art, creating an adjacent sculpture park called the Car Art Reserve.