Oregon's Centennial Candle
Damascus, Oregon
In 1959 someone in Oregon came up with the idea of creating a giant candle -- one that would burn for 100 days -- to celebrate the state's centennial. The project floundered until it was taken up by George Livingston of Damascus, who melted four tons of wax over empty 55-gallon oil drums and stacked them into a 21-foot-high candle, then topped it with a propane tank flame.
Damascus, "The Smallest Town With The Biggest Ideas," was so proud of George's 100-day accomplishment that in 1962 -- during the World's Fair in Seattle -- it erected a permanent steel-reinforced concrete replica of the candle to stand along the main highway through town. Calling it "The Candle of Peace," it was supposed to burn perpetually -- but was extinguished less than a year later when the expected crowds of candle fans failed to materialize.
The candle slowly deteriorated into a gray, vine-covered pillar. Then in 2009, Oregon's sesquicentennial, Damascus rediscovered its Candle Pride and repainted the pillar red with white wax drips and topped it with a steel flame.