Entry No. 66 — the Chicago file — filed under: outdoor
Forevertron / World of Dr. Evermor
The Forevertron is a 50-foot-tall, 300-ton scrap-metal contraption that the late demolition expert Tom Every built to launch a fictional Victorian inventor into the heavens on a 'magnetic lightning force beam.' It incorporates two 1880s Thomas Edison dynamos and the decontamination chamber from Apollo 11, surrounded by an entire mythology of supporting sculptures. Nearby stands a Bird Band of nearly 70 scrap-metal birds, gigantic insects, and a bellows-driven barbecue train, all rusting quietly in a field behind a surplus-salvage yard.
The story
Before he was Dr. Evermor, Tom Every was a man who tore things down for a living. For nearly thirty years as an industrial demolition contractor, he dismantled Midwestern breweries, paper mills, and power plants, watching historical machinery get chopped up for scrap. In 1983, under intense personal strain, Every walked away from the demolition business, renamed himself after a fictional Victorian scientist, and began using his saved industrial loot to construct an interdimensional escape pod instead.
That escape pod is the Forevertron: a 300-ton, 50-foot-tall scrap-metal engine pinned and bolted together so it can theoretically be dismantled and moved. Every built it around genuine historical artifacts he spent decades rescuing from scrap heaps. Its core incorporates two 1880s Thomas Edison dynamos, 1920s high-voltage power plant switches, scrap metal salvaged from the adjacent Badger Army Ammunition Plant, and the actual decontamination chamber from Apollo 11. In Every's personal mythology, the machine was designed to launch Dr. Evermor into the heavens on a 'magnetic lightning force beam.' He even built a heavy iron tea house gazebo so Queen Victoria and Prince Albert could sit and watch the launch, along with a massive metal telescope for skeptics to observe his ascent.
The rest of the field functions as the launch site's support network. Surrounding the main machine is a sprawling orchestra of nearly 70 scrap-metal birds made from turnbuckles, brass horns, and industrial pipes, alongside giant iron insects like the Juicer Bug and Arachna Artie the spider. Every died in 2020, but his machine remains right where he pinned it together, rusting quietly in an open field directly behind a commercial salvage yard.
What it's like
You pull off Highway 12 into a gravel lot shared with Delaney's Surplus Sales, about 165 miles northwest of Chicago. There are no ticket booths or velvet ropes; you walk straight out into an open grassy lot where tons of industrial iron sprout from the weeds. The site is free to visit, but it operates seasonally (roughly April through December) with midweek closures, and open hours fluctuate, so call ahead before making the drive. Plan to spend an hour wandering through the scrap-metal Bird Band, listening to the wind rattle through hollow pipe bodies, and examining how Edison's 19th-century dynamos were wired directly into Evermor's Victorian launch fantasy.
The move: Stroll the open field together picking out the strangest welded creatures, then trace how the supporting sculptures all feed the Forevertron's invented launch myth.
📍 Before you go Free to visit. Open seasonally (roughly April-December), Thu-Mon with closed days midweek; call ahead as hours vary. About 165 miles northwest of Chicago near Baraboo.
- 📍 North Freedom, WI
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: S7703 US-12, North Freedom, WI 53951
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- House on the Rock — Tom Every actually salvaged materials and built installation art for House on the Rock before leaving to build his own scrap universe 23 miles away, making these two sites a direct double-feature in Midwestern visionary scale.
- Dickeyville Grotto — Pair Every's 300-ton industrial steel machine with Father Mathias Wernerus's hand-built shell and glass grotto 60 miles south to see two completely different approaches to Wisconsin outsider environments.
- Volo Museum — If Every's massive collection of industrial gear leaves you wanting more mechanical hoarding, this 35-acre car and pop-culture salvage maze south of the state line hits a similar wavelength.
Good to know
Where is the Forevertron located and how far is it from Chicago?
It is located at S7703 US-12 in North Freedom, Wisconsin, right behind Delaney's Surplus Sales near Baraboo. It is about 165 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, which takes roughly three hours by car.
How much is admission and what are the hours?
Admission is completely free. The park is open seasonally from roughly April to December, usually Thursday through Monday. Because hours vary depending on weather and staffing, call ahead or check their official site to confirm before visiting.
What actual historical scrap is built into the Forevertron?
The 300-ton main sculpture incorporates two 1880s Thomas Edison dynamos, 1920s high-voltage components, salvaged metal from the nearby Badger Army Ammunition Plant, and the Apollo 11 decontamination chamber.
Who was Tom Every?
Tom Every (1938–2020) was a former industrial demolition expert who quit the wrecking business in 1983 to adopt the alter-ego Dr. Evermor, spending the rest of his life turning industrial salvage into massive folk-art sculptures.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · Atlas Obscura · Roadside America · Official site · folkart.org · YouTube
last checked: 2026-06-23