Carhenge, the American Stonehenge made of vintage cars
3 min read
Near Alliance, Nebraska, there is an exact copy of Stonehenge, but made entirely from vintage cars.
All of us, at least once in a lifetime, came across some images of Stonehenge, the most famous and impressive “Stone Circle” in the United Kingdom located near Amesbury, Wiltshire. A set of megaliths, some of which are topped by horizontal elements, a structure that is believed to be an ancient astronomical observatory, but whose real purpose still remains a mystery.
Certainly less common is come across images of Carhenge, located in Nebraska, in the United States, where there arises a sort of reworking of the mythical Anglo-Saxon sculptures, built however, using old cars instead of the boulders used overseas.
And so, if you find yourself passing just north of Alliance, in Nebraska, you will come across a circle formed by cars, with three triliths erected inside, exactly on the model of Stonehenge. The structure is completely made up of vintage cars, dyed gray just to remember the color of the stones used by the English for the original monument.
Among the many visitors who find themselves passing through this curious place, over 87,000 a year, many people wonder what it is.
And if for some it is art, for others it is a socio-economic complaint, while for others it is a simple structure without any claim.
However, it wouldn’t be any of this: it is simply the tribute built in 1987 by Jim Reinders to the memory of his father, a lover of vintage cars.
Jim Reinders, an experimental artist with a history of using curious media, became so enthralled by the beauty of the famous Stonehenge in England that he had to recreate it.
However, instead of using stone, decided to use a more modern, Americanized approach.
Shortly after his father died in 1982, he came up with the idea to build “Carhenge”, and five years later during a family reunion, with the help of some thirty family members, Reinder used thirty-eight automobiles to mirror the position of the rocks that construct Stonehenge.
All the vehicles – a handful of cars, a pick-up truck, an ambulance, and a 1962 Cadillac – accurately and proportionately depict the original structure.
Completing the sculpture just in time for the Summer Solstice, the family celebrated their achievements with drink and song.
If locals were initially disturbed by the presence of Carhenge, believing it to be an eyesore, over time have accepted and loved the structure that put their town on the map.
But Jim would not have been the only one to have such an idea: such a structure would indeed exist even in Ontario, Canada. South of Port Perry it is possible to visit a similar structure, but called Autohenge, built by a certain Bill Lishman only the year before the one located in Nebraska (Photo below)