Lucas,
Kansas
US Highway 18 in Central Kansas
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If you enjoy folk art, you should make a point of visiting
Lucas,
Kansas. It was designated the "Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas" by
Governor Graves in 1996. The Lucas community of only 460 people offers
more interesting attractions than communities many times larger. All within
easy walking distance.
Just 15 miles north of I-70 along the the beautiful Post
Rock Scenic Byway (Kansas Highway 232). The photo of Wilson Lake on the
home page of Kansas Travel was taken along the Byway.
I think that Lucas, Kansas is one of the neatest little
communities that you will find anywhere. If you haven't visited Lucas,
you haven't seen Kansas.
Bowl Plaza is the
name of the public rest room facility in downtown Lucas. The public loo
was built in 2011-12 in the shape of the world's largest toilet, with the
building being the tank, benches in front of the building forming the toilet
bowl, a 14' mosaic toilet lid surrounding the entrance, and a giant roll
of toilet paper unwinding to form the side walk. There is a dog statue
taking a drink from the bowl. Bowl Plaza is handicapped accessible. |
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Brant's Meat Market
features fine fresh meats as well as dry cured bacon, beef jerky, homemade
Czech bologna, and wonderful smoked link sausages. The market has been
operating since 1922. Four generations of the Brant family worked in the
shop. The market closed in January 2018, but reopened under new ownership
with the same recipes in June 2018. |
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Florence Deeble began constructing
her Rock Garden using rocks brought
back from her travels and recreating scenes from her travels when she was
50 years old and continued nearly 50 years. |
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S. P. Dinsmoor was a a retired schoolteacher and Civil
War veteran who moved to Lucas, Kansas in 1891. During most of the remaining
31 years of his life, he created a unforgettable legacy known as the Garden
of Eden. |
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The Garden of Isis features
5 rooms of Mri-Pilar's bizarre art made from doll bodies, toys, kitchen
utensils and other recycled materials. |
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The Grassroots Art Center
in Lucas promotes self taught artists from around the state of Kansas,
with an emphasis on the folk artists who did most of their work in Lucas.
The Center occupies three late 18th Century buildings downtown Lucas. |
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The Lucas Travel Plate,
also known as The World's Largest Souvenir Plate, has images of
many of the folk art attractions in Lucas and has many small details which
only reveal themselves with repeated viewing. |
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Roy and Clara Miller began building a rest stop on Kansas
Highway 18 in 1921. Starting in 1932, they added a rock garden and miniature
buildings using rocks and shells they brought home from their travels and
until the 1960s, travelers stopping at Miller's Park found rock & concrete
sculptures, fresh water, cabins, a playground and picnic tables. 45 pieces
of the folk art environment are preserved in Miller's
Park Sculptures. |
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Toilet Bowl Plaza in downtown Lucas houses public
rest rooms. It is shaped like the World's Largest Toilet and decorated
with found objects. It finished #2 in the 2014 America's Best Restroom
Contest and was one of six toilets in tourism destinations around the world
to win titles in the 2018 International Toilet Tourism Awards. It was awarded
Quirkiest Experience – as a public rest room with bling! |
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The World's
Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest
Things Traveling Roadside Attraction and Museum. Although it is
best enjoyed while on the road, it can be viewed at its home in Lucas the
rest of the year. |
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A. Garden of Eden
B. World's Largest Things
C. Grassroots' Art Center
D. Brant's Meat Market & Toilet Bowl Plaza
E. Florence Deeble's Rock Garden & Garden
of Isis
F. Miller's Park Sculptures
G. Lucas Travel Plate
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