Over the past year I’ve been giving talks about quirky American towns. For the next week or so, I’ll be sharing some of my favorites.
I first learned about Lucas, Kansas when I attended the Kansas City Art Institute. Friends insisted we visit the “Garden of Eden” a large art installation in Lucas Kansas. It was created by Samuel P. Dinsmoor starting in 1907. The property displays over 150 concrete sculptures reflecting his views on politics, religion, and society. It was the first of my visits to Outsider Art Environments.
Lucas also boasts the Grassroots Art Center which showcases works by self-taught artists from the Midwest. Exhibits include sculptures made from recycled materials like pull-tabs, barbed wire, and chewing gum.
If that’s not enough, there is “Bowl Plaza.” It is neither a bowling alley nor a retail shop selling dinnerware. It’s an award-winning public restroom designed to resemble a toilet, decorated with mosaics by local artists.
And that’s not all. You can visit the “World’s Largest Souvenir Travel Plate.” It’s a 14-foot-wide plate, crafted from a repurposed satellite dish, which depicts scenes from Lucas’s history and culture.
All this in a town of 338 people.