World's Largest Belt Buckle

Abilene, Kansas, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A buckle billed as the world's largest, 19 feet 10.5 inches wide and 13 feet 11.25 inches tall, at Eisenhower Park in Abilene, Kansas. Artist Jason Lahr designed it for the city's visitors bureau, and it was unveiled on 21 December 2022.

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World's Largest Belt Buckle

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Site-level location · 38.9169° N, 97.2138° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Abilene, Kansas, wanted a billboard that people would stop to photograph, so it built a belt buckle you can climb. According to the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), the buckle is 19 feet 10.5 inches wide and 13 feet 11.25 inches tall, not counting the frame, and it was unveiled at noon on 21 December 2022 at Eisenhower Park.

The idea came from CVB director Julie Roller Weeks. A K-State article in 2023 says that, after the pandemic cut funding, she wanted a way to promote the town, and a buckle works as a walking billboard for a community. The CVB says the project was paid for by a Kansas Tourism Attraction Development Grant, awarded in May 2022, and donations from 100 businesses and individuals; K-State gives the grant as $22,000.

Artist and welder Jason Lahr of Fluter's Creek Metal Works designed and built it, starting soon after the grant. K-State says the design was kept secret until it was installed in the week of Christmas 2022. Its imagery includes Dwight D. Eisenhower, Wild Bill Hickok, the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad, the Seelye Mansion, a C.W. Parker carousel horse, a telephone, a racing greyhound and a Chisholm Trail longhorn inlaid with blue quartz.

The CVB compares it with two earlier buckles: a Texas and Montana silver one at 14 feet 6.4 inches by 10 feet 6 inches, and a Missouri one at 13 feet 4.45 inches by 10 feet 1.44 inches. It also says this one functions as a real buckle, with a loop and hook on the back, and that TravelAwaits named it Best Roadside Attraction in 2023.

Travelmag reported in July 2026 that a spiral staircase at the back leads to the top, describing it as narrow and a bit steep.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A large sculpture in Eisenhower Park, Abilene. Travelmag (July 2026) describes a narrow, fairly steep spiral staircase at the back leading to the top, and says the site is open 24 hours a day with free admission.

ACCESS

Eisenhower Park, 400 N. Pine Street, Abilene, Kansas, a short drive from Interstate 70. Travelmag (July 2026) describes it as open 24 hours a day with no admission charge.

COMMUNITY