JUNKYARD EXPLORER: Stuckey's Is Gone

When I first came to northeastern Ohio in 1983, one of the most intriguing things I noted about this area was the abandoned Stuckey's in Austinburg. I saw it only in passing while traveling west on Interstate 90. But in the years that followed, this relic of bygone culture would become a destination I visited many times over.

At least twice in recent years, I took photographs of the vacant Stuckey's and posted them here. Now, I am glad to have documented its existence. Because... it is gone.

A Sunday drive to Austinburg produced sadness and regret as I pulled into the truck lot behind McDonald's and Burger King... and saw this empty patch of ground:



All that remained of the original building (above) was a small PVC pipe coupling, in the grass.






The skeletal outline of a Stuckey's sign still stands next to one for Burger King. Only it bears witness to what was once a thriving location for America's bygone travel-plaza giant.