Carhenge facts for kids
Carhenge is a super cool and unique art display located near the city of Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region of the United States. Imagine the famous ancient monument called Stonehenge in England, but instead of giant stones, Carhenge is built from old American cars! All the cars are painted gray, making them look like the original stones. Jim Reinders created this amazing place, and it was officially opened in June 1987 during the summer solstice. Today, there's even a visitor center to welcome people. You might have seen Carhenge in the Pixar webseries Cars on the Road!
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Discover Carhenge: America's Car Creation
Carhenge is a truly special place where art meets history in a fun way. It's a full-size copy of the famous Stonehenge, but with a creative twist using old cars.
What is Carhenge Made Of?
This incredible structure uses 39 old automobiles. They are arranged in a big circle, about 96 feet wide. Some cars stand upright, buried about 5 feet deep with their trunks facing down. Other cars are welded on top of these standing cars to create archways, just like the stone arches at Stonehenge. The "heelstone," a special stone at the real Stonehenge, is represented by a 1962 Cadillac here. There's even a fun tribute to American cars with three older foreign cars buried nearby, with a sign that says they "served our purpose while Detroit slept. Now Detroit is awake and America's great!"
How Carhenge Looks Like Stonehenge
Carhenge is designed to look like Stonehenge does today, after many years, rather than how it looked when it was first built thousands of years ago. This means it shows some of the "fallen" or broken parts of the original monument. Besides the main Carhenge circle, the area also has other amazing artworks made from cars, all painted in different colors.
The Story Behind Carhenge
The idea for Carhenge came from Jim Reinders in 1982. He wanted to create a special memorial for his father, who used to live on the land where Carhenge now stands. Jim had lived in England and studied the real Stonehenge, which helped him design Carhenge to have the same shape, size, and proportions. In 1987, Jim and about 35 members of his family worked together to build Carhenge. They officially opened it during the Summer Solstice, a special day in June. Over time, more car sculptures were added to the area, which is now known as the Car Art Reserve. Jim wanted Carhenge to celebrate American cars, so in 1992, a non-American car was removed to keep the theme consistent.
Jim Reinders later gave the 10-acre Carhenge site to a group called the "Friends of Carhenge." In 2013, this group then donated the site to the local community, the Citizens of Alliance, so everyone could continue to enjoy this unique landmark.
Carhenge in Pop Culture
Carhenge has become quite famous! It has appeared in movies, music videos, and even TV shows and commercials. For example, it was featured in the movie Omaha, The Movie (1995) and on the album cover for Steely Dan's Remastered, The Best of Steely Dan (1993). The band P.O.D. filmed part of their music video for "Youth of the Nation" (2002) at Carhenge. It also showed up in TV shows like Biker Build-Off and Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?. Carhenge was even the subject of a 2005 documentary called Carhenge: Genius or Junk? and was mentioned in the 2007 travel book 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die.
A Special Eclipse Event
On August 21, 2017, a rare total solar eclipse passed right over Carhenge! About 4,000 people, including the governor of Nebraska, gathered at the site to watch this amazing natural event. It's interesting to know that Jim Reinders, the creator of Carhenge, had no idea that such a special eclipse would happen there 30 years after he built it!
See also
- Cadillac Ranch
- Spindle (sculpture)
- Stonehenge replicas and derivatives
