Scrap memorial

Built on the Great Plains of Nebraska, Carhenge is based on ­Stonehenge, the ancient stone circle and World Culture Heritage Site in England.

When Jim Reinders built Carhenge on his family property in Nebraska in 1987, many people in nearby Alliance regarded it as an eyesore, a vertical junkyard. Inspired by the megaliths of the famous Neolithic monument Stonehenge, the artist erected 38 vintage cars – some of them rammed halfway into the ground and all of them painted stone gray – to create Carhenge as a memorial to his father. It had the desired effect: Once ridiculed, this quirky landmark is now a popular tourist attraction (carhenge.com).