Have you ever driven up I-55 toward Springfield and come across a giant pink elephant standing silently vigilant, like a lone sentinel along the highway?
Or perhaps the space ship or 20-foot statue of Donald Trump caught your eye?
If you have, you were driving past the Pink Elephant Antique Mall in Livingston — a roadside attraction so rich in knick-knacks and campy Americana that Lana Del Rey could write a song about it and it wouldn’t be out of place.
“I don’t even know all the things I have in here,” says Tonia Pickerill, who took ownership of the Pink Elephane in 2022. “There’s just so much stuff.”
The 30,000 sq. foot building houses an ice cream diner, a hand-made fudge and gift shop, a haunted house open in October, and a spaceship that’s soon to be an Airbnb.
The antique store/fudge shop/restaurant/haunted house is housed inside the old Livingston school’s gym, as evidenced by the wooden floors, large windows, and a wall-mural that says “Go Eagles” even after 20 years in an antique shop.
The store is about a 30-minute drive from Belleville straight up the interstate. You’ll know you’re there when you see the rocket ships, dinosaurs, aliens, Volkswagon buses and 1950s-reminiscent Astro Boy statues surround the building.
Take exit 37 and head west on the side road. There’s plenty of parking.
Some of the intriguing statues and figures are custom built, like the 20-foot Trump the previous owner had commissioned in 2020 (though it wasn’t finished until he lost the election in 2021). Others were given, purchased or otherwise found.
“There’s all kinds of stuff here to stop by and take pictures with,” Pickerill said. “And we’re always looking to get more.”
Some might ask: why would a roadside antique store need so many unique, hulking figures? The answer: people see them.
“We get people from all over the world who stop by,” she said. “Some times they saw the pink elephant, some times they come every week or every month. Lots of interesting people and they’re always taking pictures.”
Customers and the curious come and go at most hours of the day, stopping by to take photos of themselves with the various statues and knick-knacks dotting the landscape.
“I’ll be honest,” said Springfield native Hayden Manning, “I only came here because the kids wanted to see the pink elephant, but now we’ve been here for two hours getting ice cream and looking at antiques.”
Tourists and travelers weaving through the aisles come in all shapes, sizes and backgrounds, like Alvin Carrera, a Canadian who couldn’t resist a milkshake after the tiring work of scrutinizing the aisles for wares.
“This place is so cool,” Carrera remarked. “One of the most American places I’ve ever seen, really.”
This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Joshua Carter is a photojournalist for the BND, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
