A Fun Detour to Roadside Sights

They say getting there is half the fun--or half the horror, depending on how you feel about roadside attractions. Off-road schlock is the subject of “Highway Hangouts” at 9 tonight on the History Channel, part of its weeklong “Hit the Road” programming, with NFL star Jason Sehorn as host.

In 1900, there were only 144 miles of paved road in the United States and only 8,000 cars. By 1910, there were 458,000 cars, and their owners demanded decent roads, places to go and things to see. They soon got them. Entrepreneurs followed the drivers, and places of gas, food and lodging quickly sprang up along the highways. Soon, roadside attractions to lure drivers off the asphalt joined the battle for the Buick buck.

These early spectacles fell into four main categories: natural wonders, animals, human curiosities and kid-friendly. Many were whimsically inventive and fun, such as the underwater mermaid show still in Weekiwachee, Fla., and an Eskimo dog-sled ride in New Hampshire. Others were the truly bizarre products of obsessive loners, such as a monument to the Great Depression made entirely of trash.

As commentator John Magolies, author of “Fun Along the Road,” says, the attractions show that “there isn’t anything the human mind can’t achieve given the opportunity to run amok.” Unfortunately (or fortunately), the advent of major highways signaled the death of most of these roadside hangouts.

Although the trip down this memory lane is long and strange, the documentary keeps viewers’ interest with its quick pace, informative commentary, fun soundtrack of old popular tunes and vintage film footage, photographs and postcards. The diversity of the attractions themselves is of endless interest, even the off-color ones that hold all the fascination of a car wreck. You’ll have a hard time looking away.