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On the beat of themed entertainment. New season debuts January 2022. A production of No Midnight Media.

Feb 25, 2020

One summer day in the late 1990s, a Houston-based sculptor named David Adickes was returning home from a trip to Canada. Along the way, he drove past the Black Hills of South Dakota, and in the distance, got a glimpse of Mount Rushmore. Four massive presidents' faces struck into a granite cliff is enough to catch anyone’s attention, but Adickes had the very same thought that I was just pondering...why play favorites?

For the rest of the drive home, Adickes did some dreaming, envisioning a sprawling park with every president represented. He loved the idea of the larger-than-life presidential busts, but wished that people could get closer to them. Adickes later remarked to the Washington Post “The idea for the big heads just popped into my small head!”

On this week's Theme Park Time Machine: Adam dives into the history of Presidents Park, an inspirational (but ill-fated) Virginia outdoor museum with giant busts of every US President!

SOURCES:

The Fate of Presidents Park from Smithsonian Magazine 

The History of Presidents Day from Ancestral Findings 

Washington Post article about the park, shortly after opening 

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Support Theme Park Pulse at $5 a month or more and hear our new Patreon-exclusive podcast, Game of Clones: A Star Wars The Clone Wars Recap Show! Albie and Jack watch full episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars together and provide commentary. Then - after the episode, They will recap and discuss! Watch along on Patreon!
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Theme Park Time Machine is researched, written and narrated by Adam Vargyas. Production and Sound Design by Jack Milliken. The executive producer for No Midnight Media is Christopher "Kory" Beale.