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Return to Crossroads
Crossroads Concept & Artisans
Crossroadssm provides a living
stage for history to entertain. Skilled craftspeople and artisans in period
dress engage visitors through demonstrations of blowing glass, dipping candle
tapers, pouring peanut brittle and more. The cast of costumed characters with
interwoven stories brings the town to life.
Research teams use creative license, but
base the characters and story lines on stories and area residents of the period
to create a setting that is informative and entertaining. For example, a Martha
Tweedle did make candles.
Crossroadssm is built near the
location of the 19th century town of Gibraltar. The name was chosen
an as apt description of how towns developed as a memorable destination.
One challenge for designers is providing the
feel of the 1870s in a manner that meets the building codes and health standards
of the 21st century. The boarding house dining booths are based on
designs for antique bed headboards. Real antique pieces would not withstand the
traffic. While dining chairs must be of commercial grade, games, wallpaper,
mixed chairs, fruit jars and other elements evoke the period. The window
trimming is French heritage ring lace, reproduced in superb quality, and just
one example of the attention to period elements that Silver Dollar City, Inc.
has incorporated.
There is a reason for each detail. The
candle shop run by a former teacher includes globes, school bells, lunch pails,
desks and blackboard letters to shape the character’s background. The unique
boarding house memory gate contains mementos of Miss Katie’s life that help
visitors understand the character and history.
Aromas and sounds are part of a bustling
town. Thompson’s Grist Mill & Bakery draws visitors with smells of freshly
ground flour and warm cinnamon bread and a singing baker.
The blacksmith pounds metal at Smithy’s Forge, adjacent to Crossroads
Outfitters. Musicians and storytelling characters abound.
J.
Wiley General Mercantile and the Toy Shop introduce characters through the lives
of their owners. The Tintype Shop offers a tangible memory in period dress and
tales of traveling with Barnum’s circus told by proprietress Miss Lillibelle
Baker. | 