Lincoln Highway Monument

To mark the highest elevation along the cross-country thoroughfare known as the Lincoln Highway, the Wyoming Parks Commission, well, commissioned the building of a titanic bust of Honest Abe himself which, despite being moved, still looms near passersby on I-80.

Built in 1959 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 16th president’s birth, the giant presidential visage originally sat on a spot called Sherman Summit, which at almost 9,000 feet above sea level was the highest point along the entire road. The two ton bronze head sits on a 30-foot granite spire, but seems to peer down over the edge thanks to a cartoonish discrepancy between the size of the head and the much smaller shoulders it is connected to. The bust itself is another 13-feet tall atop its perch and is hollow inside containing only lightning rods, some ladders, and later on the ashes of its creator.

After the I-80 highway was completed, the monument was moved to a new spot alongside the new road where it remains to this day. Its new location is actually 200-feet lower than its previous spot, but it is unlikely to be seen as any less impressive by any motorists who fall under the giant icon’s bronzy gaze.