The Giant Coffee Pot of Bedford, Pennsylvania

The Giant Coffee Pot of Bedford located on historic Route 30 in Pennsylvania is the kind of roadside attraction that gets me excited for a road trip.

The Giant Coffee Pot of Bedford

This unique building, built somewhere between 1925-1927 depending on which resource you’re reading, originally served as a lunch counter attached to a gas station.

When novelty architecture was no longer a driving force on the highway, the building changed hands and fell into hard times. It sat neglected for several years before becoming the property of the LHHC, Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, an agency that works to preserve historic landmarks along the original Lincoln Highway.

The building was purchased for the low price of $1, but moving it across the street to its current location and restoring the 18- foot tall, 22- foot in diameter building cost more than $80,000.

The restored Coffee Pot has welcomed passers-by and road trippers at the opening of the Bedford County Fairgrounds since 2003. This unique attraction is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only a handful of similar type coffee pot type structures that remains within the United States.

I stopped on my way through town, read the placard located outside the building and peeked inside the door for a look inside at a pretty barren space, minus a table with what looked like coffee pot memorabilia which included postcards. This led me to believe that the attraction must be open on occasion for visitors to step inside a purchase a piece of history to take home with them and I was just a little saddened to find it closed during my visit to Bedford.

Maybe one day, I’ll visit again.

You’ll find the coffee pot roadside attraction at 108 Telegraph Road, Bedford, Pennsylvania. There is plenty of parking though I imagine that may change when the fair is held.