If Zippy The Pinhead died and went to the afterlife it would be located in Waterbury, Connecticut. HolyLand is the creation of an ex-lawyer who, in the 1960's, decided to spend his retirement in building a miniature version of Jerusalem... out of old water heaters and cyclone fencing! The mannequins depicting Adam and Eve in a plastic rainforest, the effigies of Christ and the two thieves on the cross, even the concrete mock-up of Noah's Ark... all add up to one man's demented vision of biblical kitsch.
Sadly, HolyLand is a mere remnant of its former glory. Many of the attractions have been removed or have succumbed to the harsh New England weather. But enough remains to give a sense of the single-mindedness (or obsessive-compulsive behavior) that went into it. HolyLand also boasted at one time to harbor the "Pillars of the Popes" from the Vatican Pavillion of the 1964 World's Fair. Run by the Order of the Sisters of Phillippi, this quasi-theme park was, in its heyday, host to thousands of visitors every year... Take the "Downtown Waterbury" exit off of Interstate 84, head for the great glowing cross on the hill, or follow the signs.