WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Come face to face with former American leaders at The Presidents Heads in Williamsburg, Virginia, an outdoor art installation featuring Texas-based artist David Adickes’ collection of towering fiberglass busts of past presidents.
Each sculpture stands roughly 20 feet tall and weighs several tons, and their weathered faces are now marked by cracks, chips and moss, which adds to the surreal, almost eerie effect of this attraction.
The collection was initially displayed at a now-defunct roadside attraction called Presidents Park, which opened in 2004 near Colonial Williamsburg. When the park closed a few years later, the sculptures faced demolition. Luckily, though, they were rescued and relocated to a plot of private land, where they remain today as a kind of accidental art installation that’s part history lesson and part exploration site.
Visitors can now see the heads only during scheduled, guided tours, which are held on select dates throughout the year. Tours are usually led by photographer John Plashal, who helped preserve the sculptures and now oversees public access. Find tour schedules at www.johnplashalphoto.com and purchase tickets online at thepresidentsheads.com.
The next available tour dates are February 14 for a daytime tour and April 4 for an evening tour.
Admission costs about $35 for adults, $12 for children over seven years old, and is free for kids under seven. Children tend to be big fans of The Presidents Heads: They love using provided maps to find specific presidents and match faces to names, turning the visit into a larger-than-life scavenger hunt.
The site is fully outdoors, and the ground can get pretty muddy, especially after storms, so we recommend wearing rain or mud boots.
For travelers in the Mid-Atlantic or Northern Virginia regions, The President Heads offers an offbeat detour appealing not only to history buffs, but also to photographers, families and urban explorers.
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