A couple of years ago Mel and I were driving along Route 16 in Georgia, when we came upon a small, and fun, roadside attraction.  Barbie Beach was founded in 2006 when its owners, Steve and Linda Quick had the beer-fueled idea to put an outrageously tacky display of toys in their front yard to replace rose bushes that a careless highway crew had accidentally destroyed.

A couple of weeks ago word came that Linda had passed away. Steve had died a year earlier, and the family is looking to find some way to commemorate Barbie Beach, but the original property, near Turin, Georgia, will be sold and soon the Beach will be no more in its present location.

Today I’m re-posting our photo essay of Barbie Beach, from March, 2022…

We made a discovery while on our trip to Georgia a couple of weeks ago.  While driving Route 16, between Newnan (Home of Full Circle Toys) and Senoia, both of us caught a fleeing glimpse of something called “Barbie Beach” by the roadside.

Mel and I both thought that we’d seen signs for a roadside attraction, and when we got back to the hotel that night, we checked the Google machine and discovered that we had, in fact, seen the entire actual roadside attraction.

It turns out that Steve and Linda Quick, a couple of residents of Turin (located along Route 16), decided back in 2006, in honor of the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, to create a roadside sculpture garden in their front yard. The couple put out some sand, a backdrop, and created scenes using mainly naked Barbies and Kens, along with other inexpensive props.

In the 16 years since they began, they have added more dolls and action figures and Barbie-sized cars, and they change the display to reflect the season, or holiday, or commemorate a big even like the NCAA Tournament.  The scenes generally seems to involve a beach and naked Barbies partying at “Mort’s Bar.” And they seem to keep things fairly topical.

If they have any 12″ Will Smith figures, I imagine he’ll be in there slapping away in no time.

Mel and I knew that we had to go back the next day. Unfortunately, that night the area was hit with wind and rain, and when we got there, what had been set up to be a wild party scene for St. Patrick’s Day instead looked like the hungover morning after a wild St. Patrick’s Day party.  Even disheveled, Barbie Beach is pretty cool.

We got some fun photos to share, and had a blast.  We even found a cool Jem and the Rockers vehicle that’s now on Mel’s wantlist.

I can tell you that Barbie Beach will be a regular stop now, whenever we go to Georgia. It’s loads of fun and it’s also harmless, but it reportedly really pisses off their neighbors, which is an added bonus.

Mrs. PopCulteer even started pondering the idea of creating a SpongeBob display for our front yard, but we know that, in Dunbar, such a display would last approximately ten minutes before the local scavengers would pick it clean.

We’re hoping to go back and meet the Quicks, and maybe donate a few action figures to their display.

To get there, you basically drive down Route 16 in Georgia, between Senoia and Newnan, and when you see it, pull off and park by the tree. There is no admission fee, and you can stay as long as you want (within reason…I don’t think they want people sleeping in Barbie Beach). Don’t forget to visit the Facebook page devoted to Barbie Beach.

Here’s a look at the Beach…

…and here’s a short video profile…

Now let’s look at more pictures of Barbie Beach!

Off to the left, a group of three GI Joes (one of them being a knockoff) guard the perimeter.

I would imagine the St. Patty’s doll looked a bit better before being drenched in the storm the night before.

The view walking from where we parked.

A closer look at the main sign and backdrop. They change the scenes on a regular basis.

Mort’s Bar includes naked Barbies, Kens, a couple of Max Steel figures, a cool jukebox, and frog molesting a Barbie, and a drunken Barbie who has fallen off her drunk horse.

A line of Barbie car traffic (along with a smaller firetruck, and a wind-blown display with scattered dolls around it.

More of the post-storm carnage, plus that really cool Jem car, and some table-dancing leprechauns who managed to survive the wind.

One more look at Barbie Beach.

Barbie Beach was a fun little diversion, and PopCult offers our condolences to the Quick family and to everybody who ever got to experience the joy and humor of Barbie Beach. Later today we will have another “flashback”  to a previously-published PopCult post.