UFO Welcome Center
Encyclopedia
Roadside attraction
A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road, that is frequently advertised with billboards to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere else, rather than being a final or primary destination in and of themselves. The modern...
located in Bowman, South Carolina
Bowman, South Carolina
Bowman is a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,198 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bowman is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.-History:...
, built in the back yard of Jody Pendarvis. It consists of a 42 feet (12.8 m) built out of wood, fiberglass, and plastic. The structure, entered by a powered ramp, is mounted on four columns, designed to raise and lower with motors. In addition to a labyrinth of mechanical and electronic salvage parts, the saucer is furnished with a bed, satellite television, air conditioning, toilet, and a shower. Pendarvis envisioned himself as being an ambassador to aliens
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
and wanted to provide a facility where they could rest after a long journey on UFOs.
The saucer had begun to be built in 1994 and became a local tourist attraction, with a $1 entry fee. The center was the subject of a 2001 segment in The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, in which Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
presented a caricatured tour of the attraction. In 2003 Pendarvis added a smaller saucer, about 20 feet in width, to the top of the original structure and began living in the saucer during the summers when the saucer is cooler than his nearby mobile home. The admission price had risen to $20 by 2005.