# Places that became tourist attractions for one reason **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998 "2021-12-13T18:15:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/141 "2021-12-19T05:37:04Z")
This thread now has me thinking… are there _Watership Down_ tourists? The book takes place in a specific real area of England, and has a map showing the locations. I just googlemapped the name, and the familiar locations showed up. But I’m not sure whether there’s one specific town that would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/142 "2021-12-19T08:18:02Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The Meteor Crater wouldn’t be a tourist attraction were it not for, well, the meteor crater. > > [https://meteorcrater.com/](https://meteorcrater.com/) It’s a wonderful place to visit. It has an excellent little museum, a film you can watch and a healthy bit of cheesiness. My father wanted to see it and I thought the price was steep for what I figured would be a 15 minute stop. Two hours later… ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/143 "2021-12-19T11:29:20Z")
Any of the ‘Big’ things that dot roadsides around the world would tend to fit the bill. Most are tacky tourist traps, designed to extract money from passers-by, but over time, many have become ‘Iconic’ and, indeed, are heritage-protected. Many started as memorials to local industries or agriculture (there are al least 10 ‘Big Apples’ in Australia alone - so I suppose they don’t count towards the OP. Some are purely giant advertising symbols. The strangest (and therefore best) ones are those that have no relation to the infrastructure, history or industries of the local area I think my favourite weird Thing is the Big Thermometer that celebrates ‘The Coldest Place in Queensland’ - which is rather like celebrating the Driest part of the Pacific Ocean or the Most Raucous moment during a funeral. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/144 "2021-12-19T12:13:08Z")
Liverpool also has two cathedrals, and the bizarre Williamson tunnels, featured on recent episodes of Doctor Who. > **[Williamson Tunnels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamson_Tunnels)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > The Williamson Tunnels are a series of extensive subterranean excavations in the Edge Hill area of Liverpool, England. They are thought to have been created under the direction of tobacco merchant, landowner and philanthropist Joseph Williamson between 1810 and 1840. Although popularly described as "tunnels", the majority comprise brick or stone vaulting over excavations in the underlying sandstone. The purpose of the works remains unclear and ... ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/145 "2021-12-19T12:29:33Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The Meteor Crater wouldn’t be a tourist attraction were it not for, well, the meteor crater. The meteor just missed hitting the museum! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/146 "2021-12-19T15:09:45Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I nominate Holsten’s Ice Cream in NJ. They have tour buses and everything bringing folks over from NYC to visit. Nothing else in the area, just the restaurant. Apparently, it was featured in a notable episode of Of… what? ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/147 "2021-12-19T18:01:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The meteor just missed hitting the museum! …by ~50,000 years, which is geologically just a blink! They must thank their lucky stars every day. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/148 "2021-12-19T21:09:25Z")
The “other Woodstock”, in Illinois, attracted occasional visitors with its old-timey town square and opera house. But it didn’t really show up on tourist radar until those elements became the setting for the 1992 movie _Groundhog Day_. In the movie, of course, Woodstock was a stand-in for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, another one-hit wonder of a tourist town. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/149 "2021-12-19T23:12:54Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > > > I nominate Holsten’s Ice Cream in NJ. They have tour buses and everything bringing folks over from NYC to visit. Nothing else in the area, just the restaurant. Apparently, it was featured in a notable episode of > > Of… what? And @Cheesesteak is now up one point. Took me a second. > **Summary** > > It’s a reference to the last episode of _The Sopranos_. Unless Eyebrows is whooshing me too, then he get’s a point and I look foolish. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/150 "2021-12-19T23:20:49Z")
Looking at the website, I was surprised at how much it cost. I don’t remember how much it was when I was there in 1994, but I do remember that the museum needed some big-time updating, and it looks like they have done that, so it may well be worth it ($10 to $20 a person based on age and several other factors). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/151 "2021-12-19T23:31:12Z")
Nauvoo, Illinois, gets a large amount of Mormon tourism due to its role in their history, and would otherwise not be particularly notable. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/152 "2021-12-19T23:51:28Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Looking at the website, I was surprised at how much it cost. I don’t remember how much it was when I was there in 1994, but I do remember that the museum needed some big-time updating, and it looks like they have done that, so it may well be worth it ($10 to $20 a person based on age and several other factors). It totally is. We found a place to sit and just sat and looked and suddenly it was 1/2 hour later. Plus they have a spot in the museum marked “the bottom of the crater” for cheesy photo ops. I dragged dad over to it for photos. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/153 "2021-12-20T06:55:27Z")
Well, the National Cryptologic Museum in Annapolis Junction, MD is the only reason for a tourist to be in that vicinity (and visiting anywhere else in that specific location is not advised). And… it looks to be closed right now. Hopefully it will reopen at some point. It really is a fascinating place. And open to the general public (that portion not intimidated by armed guards and concrete barriers) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/154 "2021-12-20T17:56:39Z")
If we can narrow the term “tourist” to “John”, there is nothing to see in Mound House NV ,but the Bunny Ranch brothel. And, oh my, what a disappointment(no, I didn’t go inside). It just looks like a ratty industrial site in the middle of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/155 "2021-12-20T17:59:15Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > And @Cheesesteak is now up one point. Took me a second. Thank you, I appreciate that at least one person got it. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/156 "2021-12-20T18:41:52Z")
It helped that I’ve actually been there for the reason it’s famous. And you are right, there is really nothing else there for a tourist. It looks exactly like the main drag of any small town/city ever built. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/157 "2022-01-07T04:22:31Z")
Kitty Hawk, where the Wrights first flew, has nothing. And that’s not a typo, even the famous flight took place in a nearby town. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/158 "2022-01-07T18:56:40Z")
I’m not sure it’s a tourist attraction per se. It’s certainly well known because of the Wright brothers, but do people go there for that reason? I was there once, for the beach. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/159 "2022-01-07T19:05:13Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m not sure it’s a tourist attraction per se. It’s certainly well known because of the Wright brothers, but do people go there for that reason? Wikipedia says that, in 2011, over 445,000 people visited the Wright Brothers National Monument – technically in Kill Devil Hills, a town which didn’t yet exist when the Wright Brothers made their flight. Kitty Hawk is traditionally cited as the location of the first flight, as it was the nearest town at that time. > **[Wright Brothers National Memorial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Brothers_National_Memorial)** > > Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau about the area's steady winds. They also valued the privacy provided by this location, which in the early twentieth century was remote from major population centers. > Authorized as Kill Devil Hill Monu... ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998/160 "2022-01-07T20:48:41Z")
Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are conterminous with Nags Head, as well, which is the major beach town for the Outer Banks, and draws thousands of visitors every year. Indeed, I’d guess that the number of tourists who go to Nags Head for the beach dwarfs the number who go for the Wright Brothers Monument by an order of magnitude. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-that-became-tourist-attractions-for-one-reason/955998.md?page=9)