In Shartlesville, Berks County, there is a coal mine, a factory, a school, stores, a train yard, an airport, and a zoo—all in miniature and under one roof.  The miniatures are part of Roadside America, a 3/8” scale world that fills an entire building. 

         Children who visit Roadside America circle the model pointing their fingers and yelling “Look!” to anyone who will listen.  They point to the deer hidden in the woods, the moving circus parade, and the people dancing in the barn.  They point to tiny suits of armor guarding the inn’s entrance, and they point to a car crash at an intersection.  But the children don’t have to point because people can’t stop looking at the world that Laurence Gieringer created.

         The model has always been a work in progress, and Gieringer continued to add to his perfectly scaled world until he died on January 13, 1963.  Today Gieringer’s grand-daughter Dolores Heinsohn owns and cares for the model. 

            “If he’d had more time, this would have been much bigger,” Heinsohn admits on the afternoon that I visit it with my son. 

         Like many who come to Roadside America, I remember seeing the model as a child.  My favorite area then was the Village of Fairfield with a miniature Kaufman’s Furniture so detailed that the showrooms inside the store could be seen through the windows.  On this afternoon nothing had changed. 

         “Kids can experience things the way they used to be,” says Heinsohn of the historically accurate model.

         Several children were visiting that afternoon, and as their parents admired the buildings they were pulled away by tugs on their elbows.  Buttons dot the perimeter of the model, inviting small fingers to push them and to bring the trains, trolleys, playground, and even circus to life.  As my son dedicated himself to finding each button, it gave me a chance to explore the model.

         “It’s an extinct art,” Heinsohn explains as she stands with us on the balcony overlooking the world that she’s known all her life.  “A time gone by.” 

         Laurence Gieringer created everything he needed for his model.  He used trial and error to perfect the painting of stained glass windows, he created his own metal molds, and he taught his children how to replace the leaves on the trees when they were worn.

         “My grandmother made the cornstalks.  I don’t know how to do that yet, so we’re very careful of them,” Heinsohn explains.

         As we talk, the night scene begins.  The lights dim allowing the buildings’ windows to illuminate the scene while patriotic songs play over the speakers.  In homage to its creator, nothing has been changed about the model, and the visitors this afternoon seem delighted by it, including my son who is singing along to “God Bless America.” It’s nighttime in Laurence Gieringer’s miniature world. 

            Meanwhile, Heinsohn points out buildings that reflect Gieringer’s life growing up near Reading, PA.  That’s where his love of miniatures started when he was five and he saw far off buildings and imagined them as miniature toys.  One day when he was ten, he sat on top of Mount Penn with his brother and looked at the tiny city below him.  The brothers decided to build a model of the houses they saw so that everyone could see it forever.  With the encouragement of their parents, they began to build the miniatures. 

            Gieringer continued to create miniatures his entire life, displaying them for his family each Christmas.  Then, in 1935 the Reading Eagle Newspaper wrote about the model in the Gierginger home and captured the public’s attention.  After that, the model was put on display in several locations before permanent housing came in 1941 in Hamburg, PA.  In August 1943 the present building was completed, and the entire model was moved in overnight. 

            “I remember him saying, ‘Be ready and get lots of boxes and paper,’” Heinsohn says of the move. 

            With the water pumps and electrical work housed in the basement, there isn’t much maintenance required of the model today.  Heinsohn tackles her largest task during the winter months—dusting.  She cleans a different section of the model each year and estimates that cleaning all 300 buildings with 4,000 figures and 10,000 trees takes three years to complete. 

            “Everything comes out,” she says of her task.  “I know how the horses are entering the barn,” she says as she points to a barn scene.  Even though the free standing pieces are removed and cared for, they are returned to the same positions each time.

            Kevin Reed works at Roadside America as the business manager, but he’s also in charge of maintenance for the model.  He, too, is there the afternoon that we visit, operating the night scene every half hour.

            Repairs to the model over the years have been minor despite the trains and water pumps running almost continuously.  Even those that wait for the push of button are seldom still. 

            As we move through the model my son needs coaxing to leave the button controlling the cable cars at the top of the mountain.  He moves on to operate one of the four trolleys instead.  But the cable cars aren’t still for long; another child quickly moves in to become their conductor.   

If You Go

Roadside America is located 47 miles outside of Harrisburg along I78 at exit 23 in Shartlesville.  It is open from July through Labor Day 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.  From September through June it opens from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.  For more information call 610-488-6241.

© Kelly Ann Butterbaugh