Holy Land USA

Jesus Christ, That Must’ve Hurt!
Holy Land USA, Waterbury

November 19, 2004

[Note: This is a poorly edited piece from my old blog - where the trip to Holy Land USA was merely a tiny part of a larger week-long roadtrip where we picked off PA, MD, WV, and DC highpoints, so it's written sort of differently. But it still works.]

cur2a.jpgAfter putting in a half day at work, Hoang and I hit the road and set out west across Connecticut, a drive we have done numerous times. But this time was different, as I had a special little diversion planned. Every state has its own quirky little places, and ours is certainly no different. The city of Waterbury is pretty quirky itself, and certainly doesn’t need much help in the creepy department. And yet it has plenty; high up on the hill overlooking town, lies the wonderfully tacky and crumbling Holy Land USA. I think we can all agree that religious zealots are often short on taste and decorum, but the guy who designed and built Holy Land had to be certifiably insane. (So what does that say for people like me who seek out such places?) I will spare you the historical details of the place and the dude who built it, as you can get that info (and more) here. I just want to make you want to go there someday.

Holy Land is only about a half hour away from my house, so I can’t believe I haven’t seen it before. Especially after I saw a Daily Show piece on it with Stephen Colbert a few years ago. Heck, maybe I’ll offer my services as a kind of tour guide if any of you out-of-towners swing by my neck of the woods. Once we exited the highway, we drove up, up, up, the steep hill all the way to the top. We parked the car at the crumbling nunnery next door and stared with wide-eyed anticipation at what lay before us: Holy Land USA. Awesome.

cur2b.jpgFrom what I’ve gathered, this place was somewhat of a tourist destination back in the 1960′s and drew thousands of visitors a year. The guy who built it poured his heart and soul and bank account into building the whole place essentially from garbage. Secondhand cement, 2×4′s, plaster, brick – whatever he could get his hands on. After he (one would hope) met his maker several years ago, there was no one to keep the place up and it has gone to crap. The small nunnery next door is supposedly responsible for the place, but it’s readily apparent those nuns have better things to do. We knew there would be “No Trespassing” signs outside the place, but we also knew that the walls next to the entryway with the signs were… Well, non-existent. Breaking the law was never so easy.

cur2c.jpgThe place has to be seen to be believed. It sprawls over several acres across the entire north side of the hilltop. Man, this guy definitely found his passion in life. If the original path was still identifiable, I think it ambles through the story of the bible from the Old Testament through Jesus’ life. Scale models (though different scales throughout the place) of famous bible stories tell the tales and histories of Christianity. As strange as that is, there are weird little landmarks sprinkled throughout which, to me, have no relevance to the bible. Like here’s a little pyramid and Sphinx from Egypt. Aren’t they symbols of some old Pagan religion? By now, 10 minutes in, we were beginning to feel a little creeped out. No one was around, it was cold, the sun was setting, and we were surrounded by little bombed out looking mini cities. Kinda like parts of Jerusalem today, I guess – only now do I appreciate that piece of realism.

cur2d.jpgWe wound our way up to the very top of the hill with the giant cross (one of many, many crosses here) that has been seen by the thousands of drivers who sit in traffic jams on I-84 every single day. If Waterbury were a nice city, the view would be very nice. Unfortunately, Waterbury is one of Connecticut’s post-industrial towns, the trees were leafless, and we were surrounded by graffiti covered remnants of some guy’s freaky dream. Time to pick our way back down to the car. In doing so, we enjoyed the other half of the hillside – the New Testament half. Overgrown trails and unidentifiable ruins made the descent a little trickier but we survived. We surely survived a lot better than poor Jesus has over the years here out in the harsh elements. It’s sorta sad to see the Reason for Christianity’s existence in various forms of limbless despair.

cur2g.jpgI’d guess that this place is a high school hangout for kids to come to and experiment with cigarettes and beer and stuff. There are many hidden passageways and tunnels and spooky hideouts. I’m sure the local high schools have all sorts of urban legends related to Holy Land USA. Freshman are probably hazed up here all the time. So what’s in it for clowns like us in our early 30′s? Not much, really, but I think it’s still a must-see on any trip to central Connecticut. Where else are you going to find a decrepit bathroom tile diorama of the Last Supper on a windy hillside? Holy Land is great, and ranks very high on my CTMQ Hidden Gems List.

After 40 minutes or so of giving Hoang a warped crash course on Christianity, we headed west through corners of NY and NJ and towards the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. On the way we attempted to find another CT Curiosity – “Little People’s Kingdom” but had no success. (Actually, we knew where it was but the “Keep Out” signs were much more convincing here. Perhaps next time…)

cur2f.jpg
I absolutely love this picture. Hoang looks like a happy tourist at the Grand Canyon instead of on a cold hill in Waterbury, CT in front of a broken Jesus. One of my all-time favorites.

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And this one is just offensive.

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Return to Religulous page

This is the only link you’ll need. There are tons of pictures of Holy Land being built as well as a bunch of links to other dorks like me who visited this place. Good stuff.

6 responses to “Holy Land USA”

  1. Catherine says:

    where do you find these places to come up with?????? This reminds me a litle bit of a place in Bridgeport, CT that I used to let my kids bomb down on their 3 wheeler trikes when they were little-it’s a monument to Italians and is off Park Avenue-kind of creepy like this one only not dedicated to the Holy Land,however, it is lit up like a Christmas tree around the holidays and for some reason kids love it!

  2. Rob says:

    When the Daily Show went to Holy Land to explain the Middle East crisis, I nearly died laughing. One of the 5 best things ever to appear on my TV.

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