Jerry's Junk - Louisville, Kentucky

1737 E. Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY

Jerry Lotz has been collecting junk since childhood. He scours flea markets, auctions and rummage sales looking for unusual items. He owns several houses in Louisville which are filled with colorful bric-a-brac. Some of his collection is on display in front of this house which has become a local landmark on Frankfort Street in Louisville. Visitors are not allowed inside, but there is plenty to see through the fence from the sidewalk. The yard is crowded with antique advertising characters and colorful signs, in a mix of sizes and scales which make a surprising hide-and-seek game of American pop culture history. Some of the sculptures in the yard were modified or crafted from several objects, such as the Nixon Statue of Liberty, while others are straightforward antiques.

Lotz was not there when I visited, but he is known to show off his handiwork to passersby and give away small items to inspire children to get started on their own collections.

Jerry Lotz's junk yard art was featured in an episode of American Pickers.