Largest Junkyard In the World Is Now Art: Old Car City U.S.A. | Barn Find Hunter

TL;DR

Old Car City in White, Georgia transformed from a 1931 family junkyard into a 34-acre open-air sculpture park where nature reclaims 4,400 cars.

Key Points

• 1.Old Car City began in 1931 when Dean Lewis's parents bought 25 acres. His father started buying junk cars to sell parts — earning 70 cents a week — and the collection grew over decades until photography revenue exceeded parts revenue.
• 2.The property holds approximately 4,400 cars across 34 acres. Cars are organized by brand family — Ford, GM, Chrysler — in zigzag lines, attracting visitors from Russia, Europe, and South America as well as coverage from Fox, NBC, ABC, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
• 3.A Volkswagen split-window deluxe bus was literally lifted off the ground by trees that grew beneath it. When it was parked, the land was an open cotton field with no trees; the tree now stands 65 feet tall.
• 4.Dean Lewis is also an artist who creates detailed sculptures on styrofoam coffee cups, a practice he started 46 years ago after quitting smoking. He now has a gallery on-site; his most famous cup has appeared on TV and in magazines.
• 5.Dean's office contains 38,979 Hot Wheel cars, a collection he started just two years ago after a woman brought him a single cup car; he recently received 4,000 more from Texas, possibly making it the largest collection in Georgia or the South.
• 6.Tom Cotter connects the site to a broader philosophy of cars as transitional sculpture. He notes that the Seavoy Museum, just 4 miles south, displays perfectly restored cars — making the two destinations a unique one-day contrast for any car enthusiast.