14 Places to See a Transportation Transformation

Once they become defunct, many planes, trains, and automobiles get relegated to a scrapyard. But sometimes these vehicles get a second chance at life. Some are reborn into eclectic works of art that dot roadsides and others are transformed into entire restaurants or museums. No matter what kind of transformation they’ve undergone, these relics have become treasures of roadside attraction lore. 

On Highway 87, slightly north of Alliance, Nebraska, stands an ode to the most famous megalith in history. Carhenge was completed in 1987 and is composed of dozens of painted gray cars that perfectly mimic its more renowned cousin, Stonehenge. In Colorado Springs, Colorado, a Boeing KC-97 tanker—one of the largest propeller-driven aircraft ever created—has been transformed into a restaurant. Colorado’s Airplane Restaurant seats 42 passengers inside the plane, which doubles as a museum. From a forest of cars covered in graffiti to a collection of Volkswagens turned spider sculptures, here are some of our favorite places built from relics of transportation.