See the School Bus Graveyard

ALTO, Ga. — Looking for something fun and free to do? Jump in the car and take a road trip to Alto, home of the School Bus Graveyard.

Alonzo Wade opened a used cars and parts business in Alto in 1959. The business sold buses as well as bus parts. However, vandals started breaking in to steal the radiators out of the buses. That led Wade to construct a makeshift fence using the buses themselves.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 56

School Bus Graveyard Looking for something fun and free to do? (Nelson Hicks)

Fast forward 50 years, unwanted visitors started painting inappropriate things on the bus fence. Walter Wade, who now runs the business, called in some artists to paint over the graffiti and thus, the School Bus Graveyard was born.

“It’s amazing,” Walter Wade told WSBTV.com’s Nelson Hicks. “There’s a lot of things I’ve done in my life, but I’m never been able to (paint) like that. I just get a kick out of watching the people’s reactions. We’ve had people from a lot of states here, other countries, just to stop by to look because they’ve seen pictures of it. It’s totally different when you stop and look at it up close and personal.”

Now, artists gather from time to time with Wade’s approval to paint. There’s more than 100 buses and some cars, too. Visitors will find everything painted across the vehicles from Homer Simpson to killer ants to PAC-MAN to Waldo.

Walking around the outside of the School Bus Graveyard is free and many people do it everyday. Inside tours cost a few dollars. Either way, it’s a great afternoon away from home.

Cox Media Group