The Cross Garden

W.C. Rice’s cross garden art environment in Prattville, Alabama, near Montgomery, was one of the nation’s fiercest roadside views. The drift of his message was crystal clear, although the specifics were sometimes arcane. Rice, whose cross fixation extended to the large wooden one he wore around his neck, was said to be quite friendly to visitors.

His signs and crosses stretched along two sides of the road. On one side was a shed that served as a chapel. On the other the signs and crosses filled a large vacant lot below a hillside trailer park that Rice owned. The messages extended to much of the driveway and front lawn of the Rice home, a suburban-style ranch house whose interior walls were reported to have been covered with a crucifix collection.

Rice died in 2004. Although his family tended the garden after his death, Google Streetview shows a rather deteriorated site as of 2019.

Find out more at spacesarchives.org.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *