Recently, my wife and I, both non-gamblers, made a weekend getaway from Washington, D.C. to Atlantic City. The destination wasn’t the point. The fun part was the roadside attractions and strange art along the way.
D.C. to Atlantic City Art Stop 1: Graffiti Pier, Philadelphia, PA
First, we stopped in Philadelphia at the graffiti pier. After parking, we weren’t sure where to go. Following the spray can markings led us to a narrow path through tall grass, and eventually, the pier. This environment is impressive in its breadth rather than the artistry of any single piece of graffiti art there. We saw two dancers filming a video, a family taking a Christmas photo holding spray cans, a father giving his son a spray paint art lesson, and others like us there to look.
D.C. to Atlantic City Art Stop 2: Musical Robot Sculptures, Buena, New Jersey
With a detour just a few miles from the highway, we found William Clark’s field of robot sculptures made from scrap metal. Clark, a car mechanic, started building these sculptures in his spare time and has been written up in several local newspapers. This art is playful and fun but also uses the original shapes from various car parts giving it a junkyard appeal.
D.C. to Atlantic City Art Stop 3: Lucy The Elephant, Margate, New Jersey
Lucy has long been on my bucket list and was the main inspiration for this entire trip. Built in 1882 by a real estate developer to promote the area, Lucy has been an office building, living space, and even a speakeasy before settling into her role as a tourist attraction and a six-story work of art. We toured the inside and even stood in the howdah, the seat on top of Lucy. My favorite detail: the walls inside Lucy are painted a color called “intestinal pink.”
D.C. to Atlantic City Stop 4: Atlantic City
Our destination was my least favorite part of our trip. Nonetheless, art and history are everywhere. The gaudy and enormous Julius Caesar sculpture in our hotel could be considered art, or at least a manufacturing marvel. We walked out to Steel Pier, once famous for horse diving. Nearby Boardwalk Hall houses “The World’s Largest Pipe Organ,” but it was closed when we stopped by.
Atlantic City to D.C. Stop 5: Wharton State Forest, Hammonton, New Jersey
After a day of piped music and casino noise, we were ready to nature bathe at Wharton State Forest. While I originally picked it because it appeared to be the closest swath of green land to Atlantic City, it turned out to be more than I’d hoped for. Aside from hiking trails, the park includes the restored colonial Batsto Village. Also, it’s located in “the pine barrens,” a unique sandy forest environment known as home to the Jersey Devil. While the lure of the casinos in Atlantic City did not appeal to me, I did have to work hard to move away from the Jersey Devil merch table.
Atlantic City to D.C. Stop 6: Big Rusty, Hainesport, New Jersey
At this point, we’d seen a graffiti-covered site and a junk sculpture site, but Big Rusty puts them both together. Big Rusty is the work of Thomas Dambo, an artist who has created huge troll sculptures throughout the world. Big Rusty is built into the side of an abandoned building which itself has turned into a work of spray can art. The site is one of 18 Troll Trek locations in Burlington County, New Jersey.
That was our big Washington, D.C. to Atlantic City vacation! We lost two dollars on slots, but every piece of art we saw along the way was free. I’m always a sucker for anything strange, bizarre, made out of trash, and/or created for no other reason than to create joy. All of the art stops on our trip fit into at least one of these categories. If you go to any of these, let me know how you liked it!
