When Tom Every was a young child growing up in 1940s rural Brooklyn, Wisconsin, his family worked toward salvaging scraps of metal that could be contributed for the benefit of the U.S. in World War II. When Tom was only 11, he founded his own business, the Brooklyn Salvage Company, marking the formal beginnings of a career processing metal byproducts. More than just a business, though, scrap metal became something of a raison d'être later in life, when he began work on an ambitious, cosmic sculptural
installation centered around a giant apparatus the artist described as a "soul-transformation device." The best part, though, if you're traveling through central Wisconsin, you can wander through this remarkable accomplishment yourself!
Every assumed an alter-ego, Dr. Evermor, and his former spouse, Eleanore, who continues to oversee the sculpture park following the artist's passing in 2020, is formally known as Lady Eleanore Every. Dr. Evermor's sculpture park is located on U.S. Highway 12 in the Town of Sumpter, less than a 15-minute drive south of Baraboo, Wisconsin. It's just a 45-minute drive northwest of Madison, where you can explore a "lost city" offering an enchanting forest adventure through scenic trails, and three hours from Chicago.
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Take An Intergalactic Trip On The 'Forevertron'
Every's park centers around a monumental structure called the "Forevertron," which he built between 1983 and 1986 with the help of his son Thayer and others. It weighs more than 300 tons and has the distinction of being the second-largest scrap metal sculpture in the world. It was unseated in 2001 in the Guinness Book of World Records by Gary Greff's 110-foot-high "Geese in Flight," installed along North Dakota's Enchanted Highway, a one-of-a-kind art-filled drive.
Every's Forevertron rings in at 50 feet tall and 120 feet wide and uses metal he collected via the industrial wrecking and salvage business he ran between 1964 and 1984, along with material he accumulated from the Henry Ford Museum, 1920s power plants, and NASA's Apollo program when they were no longer usable. The park also features dozens of smaller pieces, including a series of 70 sculptures that Every described as "The Bird Band Orchestra."
One important element of the Forevertron is the "Gravitron," which Every called a "de-watering device" that is meant to shrink a person's body to meet the 150-pound maximum that the work's crowning copper egg compartment can handle. Why is weight so important? The Forevertron isn't just an artwork — it's a cosmic transportation mechanism that Dr. Evermor designed with a vision to launch himself into the heavens on an interstellar adventure. As you walk through the park, imagine boarding this vessel and heading out on your own intergalactic romp.
Explore More Quirky Wisconsin History
The park has been managed by a nonprofit since 1999, ensuring it's maintained and remains open to the public. Drop by Thursdays through Mondays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sundays are always 12:30 to 5 p.m., and regular hours may vary) between April 1 and December 23. While you're in the area, make a day of it at some of the area's natural wonders, like Devil's Lake State Park, a dreamy Midwest camping spot with a shimmering lake and scenic bluffs, which is only a 10-minute drive north. More eclectic history awaits at Circus World in Baraboo, a 64-acre park tracing the colorful history of the American circus.
And if you're a fan of art environments, you won't want to miss other Wisconsin gems like the retro Rudolph Grotto Gardens, a serene, quirky sanctuary with stunning stoneworks. Two-and-a-half hours southwest, the John Michael Kohler Art Center and Art Preserve is another favorite, which holds some of Every's work in its collection. (While you're there, you can also surf, shop, and take in the sun in the "Malibu of the Midwest.") And if you're on the East Coast and fancy a Dr. Evermor scavenger hunt among Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, Pennsylvania's most unique urban art garden, you'll also be able to spot a piece of the Forevertron installed above a hallway.
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Read the original article on Islands.
