Carhenge

File:Henges.jpg

Carhenge consists of 39 automobiles arranged in a circle measuring about {{convert|96|ft}} in diameter. Some are held upright in pits {{convert|5|ft}} deep, trunk end down, and arches have been formed by welding automobiles atop the supporting models. The heelstone is a 1962 Cadillac.{{cite web|url=http://carhenge.com/history/ |title=Carhenge history |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125133243/http://www.carhenge.com/history.htm |archivedate=January 25, 2009 }} Three cars were buried at Carhenge with a sign stating: "Here lie three bones of foreign cars. They served our purpose while Detroit slept. Now Detroit is awake and America's great!"{{Cite web|url=https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/29025|title=America Unhenged - Stonehenge Replicas|website=RoadsideAmerica.com}}

Carhenge replicates Stonehenge's current dilapidated state, rather than the original stone circle erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC.

In addition to the Stonehenge replica, the Carhenge site includes several other artworks created from autos covered with various colors of spray paint.

This table lists cars in Carhenge starting from the west entrance and proceeding left, or clockwise, around the outer ring of cars which represent the sarsen megalith circle of Stonehenge. The inner horseshoe of trilithons are also listed clockwise.{{cite web |url=https://carhenge-109873.square.site/product/carhenge-map/15 |title=Carhenge Map |website=Carhenge.com}}

File:A451, Carhenge, Alliance, Nebraska, USA, The Fourd Seasons, 2016.jpg

Carhenge was conceived in 1982 by Jim Reinders as a memorial to his father, who once lived on the farm now containing Carhenge. While living in England, he studied the structure of Stonehenge, which helped him to copy the structure's shape, proportions, and size. It was built in 1987 by Reinders and around a crew of around 35 family members, and dedicated at the Summer Solstice. Other automobile sculptures were subsequently added to the location of Carhenge, which is now known as the Car Art Reserve. In 1992, Reinders removed a Toyota car from Carhenge, saying "We wanted it to be an American Carhenge, not a Japanese Carhenge".{{Cite news |date=May 29, 1992 |title=Carhenge will lose its lone Toyota |work=Lincoln Journal}}

Reinders donated the 10-acre site to the Friends of Carhenge. In 2011, the Friends of Carhenge listed the attraction for sale for $300,000.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nebraska-carhenge-idUSTRE79T29420111031|title=Carhenge For Sale|work=Reuters|date=October 31, 2011|access-date=June 30, 2017|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924160258/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/31/us-nebraska-carhenge-idUSTRE79T29420111031|url-status=live}} In 2013, the Friends of Carhenge donated the site to the Citizens of Alliance.{{cite web|url=http://carhenge.com/history/|title=History|work=Carhenge of Alliance, Nebraska|accessdate=March 14, 2017|archive-date=January 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125133243/http://www.carhenge.com/history.htm|url-status=dead}}

Carhenge has appeared in film, popular music, television programs and commercials. For example: Film - Omaha, The Movie (1995); Popular music - Steely Dan (album cover, Remastered, The Best of Steely Dan, 1993); P.O.D. (music video, "Youth of the Nation", 2002); Television - Biker Build-Off; Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (episode: "The Great Train Slobbery"); Commercials - Nissan Pathfinder (2006), Nebraska Cornhuskers football (2007). It is the subject of the 2005 documentary Carhenge: Genius or Junk?{{Cite web|title=TinyFist Films|url=http://www.davidliban.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209025430/http://www.davidliban.com/home.html|archive-date=2008-12-09|access-date=2021-08-25}} and features in the 2007 travel book 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die.

The path of totality of the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 included Carhenge. An estimated 4,000 people, including Nebraska governor Pete Ricketts, viewed the eclipse from the site. Reinders stated that, at the time of Carhenge's creation, he had not known about the eclipse that would occur 30 years later.{{Citation |title=As Eclipse Madness Sweeps U.S., A Stonehenge Made Of Cars Prepares |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/10/541583064/as-eclipse-madness-sweeps-u-s-a-stonehenge-made-of-cars-prepares |date=August 10, 2017 |work=Morning Edition |publisher=NPR |accessdate=August 10, 2017}}Hendee, David. [http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/gasps-cheers-and-tears-as-eclipse-wows-viewers-at-carhenge/article_3fcfc526-868b-11e7-98b3-b791c5887600.html "Gasps, cheers and tears as eclipse wows viewers at Carhenge".] [http://www.omaha.com/ Omaha World-Herald.] August 22, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.Pluhacek, Zach. [http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/eclipse/carhenge-creator-watches-once-in-lifetime-event-near-one-of/article_52133065-1b39-5168-867a-7b0de1066259.html "Carhenge creator watches once-in-lifetime event near one-of-a-kind creation".] Lincoln Journal Star August 21, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.

{{wide image|Alliance Nebraska banner Carhenge.JPG|1000px|align-cap=center|Panoramic view of Carhenge}}

• Cadillac Ranch
• Spindle
• Stonehenge replicas and derivatives

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Carhenge}}

• [http://www.carhenge.com/ Official site]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100621084615/http://nebraskahistory.org/sites/mnh/weird_nebraska/english_landmark.htm English Landmark Mysteriously Appears in Western Nebraska]}}, Nebraska State Historical Society
• {{IMDb title|qid=Q5039301|title=Carhenge: Genius or Junk?}}

{{Coord|42.142293|-102.857987|region:US_type:landmark|display=title}}

{{Stonehenge}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Outdoor sculptures in Nebraska

Category:Roadside attractions in Nebraska

Category:1987 sculptures

Category:Buildings and structures in Box Butte County, Nebraska

Category:Replicas and derivatives of Stonehenge

Category:Tourist attractions in Box Butte County, Nebraska

Category:1987 establishments in Nebraska

Category:Cars in art

Category:Sculptures of objects