← Back to Explore
The World's Largest Wooden Nickel was built by Jim Glasgow in 2006 as a political protest. Iowa PBS's list of Iowa superlatives gives its size as 16 feet and places it on the east side of Dubuque Street in Iowa City; one travel blog gives its diameter as 18 feet. Iowa PBS says the nickel was erected and that community protests prevented a planned Newport Road paving project.
Private to your Passport.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
No recommended arrival yet
We have not checked a recommended place to arrive or stop here yet.
This takes you to the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
© Stadia Maps © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors
World's Largest Wooden Nickel
This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
Approximate location · 41.684° N, 91.523° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
A giant wooden nickel in Iowa City was built as protest art that, by one account, helped stop a road project.
Iowa PBS says Jim Glasgow built the 16-foot sculpture in 2006 as a political protest, and places it on the east side of Dubuque Street. Citing the Iowa City Press-Citizen, it says Johnson County wanted to pave Newport Road, a nearly $7 million project that risked destroying natural beauty, and that the nickel was erected and community protests prevented the construction. It adds that the title previously belonged to a 13-foot nickel at a museum in San Antonio, Texas.
Add a photo
PRACTICAL
Plan your stop
WHAT TO EXPECT
An outdoor sculpture along the Iowa River Corridor Trail and Dubuque Street. Admission, hours and access terms are not documented in the sources reviewed; check locally before visiting.
ACCESS
Near 3246 Iowa River Corridor Trail / Dubuque Street, Iowa City, IA.
COMMUNITY
Visitor Log
TRANSPARENCY
Sources & research
Something not right?
If this Big Thing has changed, moved or gone, telling us keeps the guide honest for the next traveller.