TY - JOUR TI - Small town Americas DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3V126PD PY - 2015 AB - Nationally themed miniature tourist attractions are popular destinations in many areas of the world, however there is currently no site in the U.S. exactly analogous to such locations as Madurodam, Mini Israel, or Italia in Miniatura. What the U.S. does have, however, is a history of numerous “American”-themed attractions employing scale models and miniature landscapes that similarly purport to represent an overview of the nation. Developments in travel infrastructure and communications technology, the decentralization of national tourism objectives and strategies, the evolution of tourism and tourist attractions in the nation and changing American cultural mores can all be seen in the miniature American landscapes investigated in this project. Significantly, while research has been conducted on the Miniaturk and Taman Mini Java parks and the ways in which they are constructed by/construct a particular view of national identity in Turkey and Indonesia respectively, no such study has looked at the meaning(s) contained in and conveyed by their American counterparts. And, while much has been written on miniaturization, tourism, and the themed environment, rarely has the interplay between these forms and phenomena been examined, especially as they engage with national identity. The intervention I make with this project is to discuss how the nationally themed miniature tourist attraction performs in an American context and what we can learn about American culture through “close readings” of six of these potent sites: Roadside America (Shartlesville, PA), America Wonderland (Denver, PA), LEGOLANDs California and Florida, America In Miniature (Las Vegas) and Wonders of America (Phoenix). These miniature tourist attractions display evolving expectations of what constitutes an American itinerary to the domestic middle-class tourist and, by extension, evolving notions of what constitutes American cultural citizenship in the post-War era and who are recognized as full participants. KW - American Studies KW - Cities and towns--United States KW - Tourism--United States LA - eng ER -