A Pennsylvania man named Richard Schaefer began turning discarded car parts into sculptures in 1988, and his roadside front yard in Erie has since grown into one of the region’s most unusual local attractions. Visitors driving along Hershey Road will spot a two-headed dinosaur, a rocket ship, a bumblebee, a spider and a figure called Automan, all welded together from old engines, brake shoes and other salvaged automotive pieces. Here’s how the collection started, what you can see, and how to plan a visit, drawing on the artist’s own family website.
How Richard Schaefer started making car part sculptures in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1988
Richard Schaefer is an Erie native who first became interested in auto art in 1988, using welding and fabricating techniques and basic automotive knowledge learned from his father. The attraction was formerly called Dick’s Auto Art and is now known as Schaefer’s Auto Art.The raw material came from close to home. Schaefer’s brother ran a junkyard called Denny’s Auto Wrecking, and Schaefer spent a lot of time there, then began bringing car parts back to his own yard to work out how to weld them together. His first project joined the front halves of two Lincoln Continentals.
Meet Automan and the two-headed dinosaur: the most famous auto art sculptures in the yard
The Erie News Now reporter was given a personal tour that began with Automan. Automan’s body is built from an engine, a transmission and a drive shaft, and his shoes are made from brake shoes, a pun Schaefer clearly enjoys. Over the years, Automan has been dressed as a pirate, as a Halloween scarecrow, and on the day of the visit he was dressed as a golfer.Standing beside him is the two-headed dinosaur. It has spark plugs for teeth, an oil pan for a head and small wrenches for paws.
The attraction was formerly called Dick’s Auto Art (Image: Schaefer Family Page)
More roadside sculptures made from automotive parts, from the rocket ship to the bumblebee and spider
The family website lists a bumblebee, a spider, a rocket ship, Automan and the two-headed dinosaur, and adds that there are more. The photo gallery also shows a Volkswagen spider, a yellow helicopter, a car set into the ground, and a suggestion box.Because the yard is a long-running project, what you see may change from visit to visit. Even so, the rocket ship and the dinosaur are the pieces that most often catch the eye of people passing by on the road.
Visiting Schaefer’s Auto Art at 3705 Hershey Road in Erie: Location, hours and what to know
The sculptures sit in Schaefer’s front yard in McKean Township, at 3705 Hershey Road. The family website gives the full address as 3705 Hershey Road, Erie, Pennsylvania 16506, and lists the hours as dawn to dusk. When a reader asked whether she could bring a child to see the art and whether there were set hours, the family answered that she was welcome and could come whenever. The stop is a must-see destination for visitors to Erie.The family manages the website, email and social media accounts. You can reach them at schaefersautoart@gmail.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram under the name Schaefer’s Auto Art.