WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — Does Presidents Day have you wondering what those giant president heads from Williamsburg are up to now?
Well, you don’t need secret service clearance to see them, but you’ll have to grab one of few tickets sold for just a handful of viewings per year.
The 18 to 20 foot tall concrete busts, from George Washington to George W. Bush (there’s also a smaller bust of President Obama that was notably stolen and returned a few years ago), now reside in the Croaker area just up I-64 from their former home at “Presidents Park” at 211 Water Country Parkway.
When Presidents Park closed in 2010 as “the economy hit ’em hard,” new owner Howard Hankins was asked to crush the heads with his industrial stone crusher, but said he “couldn’t see destroying them.”
He moved the heads of state up the road to his recycling business, Hampton Roads Materials at 8212 Croaker Road, where many “have now fallen into a significant state of disrepair,” per tour guide John Plashal.
Hankins had a lot of ideas for the heads, including opening up his own park for them, but plans (and dreams of having an art collector buy them) never materialized.
He told CBS News in a recent article that in the meantime he will try to preserve the busts but not repair them, as some people enjoy the weathered look. “It does give them more character. I probably will keep them that way,” Hankins said.
Plashal, an author and photographer based out of Richmond who likes to highlight the beauty in abandoned places in Virginia, said he was hooked after Hankins allowed him onto the property to take photos one night. He now hosts tours about eight times a year, almost always on weekends.
Tickets for the afternoon viewings are more expensive because the heads become front lit by the sun, Plashal says. There’s also a VIP pass available for just 10 people for those who want to view the heads without crowds. Plashal’s photo of the heads at night is downright spooky.
Plashal told CBS News that the tours started off with just locals, before expanding to national and international guests. The heads also have a big social media following, with one TikTok post getting millions of views.
Sadly there are no tickets for Presidents Day weekend, but the next tours are on Saturday, March 25 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The next tours after that are on Easter weekend, with a special evening photo shoot available two weeks later on April 22.
You can read more about the tours and the president heads here.