Michigan’s “Peep Show” – The Chick Museum, 1950s

The Chick Museum is NOT a 1950s showplace that honors the ladies (“Chicks” as they were called back then), rather it’s something else I wish was still around.

It was exactly what is states: a Michigan Roadside attraction that was found in the Arenac County town of Sterling. It combined poultry farming with exhibits and a long line of nests full of hatched chicks for public viewing.

Call it ironic, coincidental, intentional, or humorous, but the Chick Museum - once found at 201 Chestnut Street – was located next to Iva’s Restaurant, an eatery that was popular for its chicken dinners.

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The Chick Museum called itself “the only one-stop in America” with 700 laying chickens - and incubators that could hold up to 46,000 eggs where visitors could watch the chicks’ daily growth. Visitors were encouraged to bring cameras, visit the gift shop, and check out antiques and Indian artifacts.

It’s believed the museum opened in the 1950s, and postcards from that era advertised the Chick Museum as a “peep show” which I’m sure drew in a few men who ended up disappointed when they discovered what it really was.

This was such a rural, small-town attraction, that it held a certain charm, and I wish I could have visited this myself. No idea when it ceased operating, but it was mostly dismantled years ago, with just part of the building remaining, which you can see if you scroll down below to the photo gallery.

By the way, Iva's Chicken Dinners is still open for business...