Most people associate theme parks with fun rides, like roller coasters and Ferris wheels, and snack foods that taste delicious but are overpriced and terrible for you. Few associate them with Jesus. Yes, the one from the Bible, the Son of God.
In Waterbury, Connecticut, there is a theme park devoted to Jesus and the Bible. It is called Holy Land U.S.A. The park closed in 1984, but welcomed 40,000 people annually at its peak and expands over 18 acres.
A local lawyer, John Baptist Greco, opened it in the 1960s to celebrate the Bible. He organized a volunteer group called Companions of Christ to build an attraction that would replicate cities from the biblical era.
The park has a white sign on a hill that is more than a little reminiscient of the Hollywood sign, that would light up at night to display the words "Holy Land USA." The park is built to look like a miniature holy city. The entrance was a stone archway with "Jerusalem" engraved in it.
On a hill, there is a 56-foot steel cross that would light up at night, and was visible for miles. In 2008, the steel cross was replaced by a new one that continues to be lit at night.
The park also consisted of a chapel, the Stations of the Cross, a replica Garden of Eden and replicas of catacombs.
Today there is still evidence of a large parking lot, as well as remnants of a gift shop and other buildings. However, the entrance to the catacombs is blocked by a church pew, and very likely unsafe anyway. Most of the statues have been decapitated.
Since its closure, the park has not been open to the public, though it continues to garner attention from curious travelers. It is currently attended by nuns from the Religious Teachers Filipinni, who live on the property. They received ownership from Greco upon his death, when he willed it to them. It has deteriorated to the extent that the nuns are uncertain what to do with it.
There have been many ideas for plans to do something with what is left of the park, with different groups proposing ways to restore it, and volunteers contributing labor, such as a boy scout project that restored the Holy Wood USA sign in 1997.
For the adventurous visitors that park in the driveway, the park is still walkable, though the nuns discourage visitors.
Today, the park is still visible to motorists passing by on I-84.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
