The era before the creation of the interstate highway system, roughly 1920-1955, is often characterized as the golden age of American roadside attractions. During the pre-interstate-highway era, cross-country automobile travel was primarily on two-lane highways with periodic traffic signals and cross-traffic. The archetypal two-lane highway offered ample visibility to roadside businesses. One very successful strategy to encourage the motorist to stop and spend money was to create the most garish and unique visual presence possible as seen from the moving vehicle. Both vernacular architecture and creative repetitive billboards flourished. The theory and practice was that the more unique the appearance, the greater the chance for business.

The interstate highway system was begun by legislation signed in 1956 by its champion Dwight D. Eisenhower. A few years later, due to efforts by Lady Bird Johnson and others, highway beautification laws dramatically reduced the presence of highway billboards. Major ways in which interstate highways differ from the previous highways include controlled access, no stop lights, isolation from business districts, higher speed limits, and fewer billboards. The new aspects of the interstate highways discouraged motorists from stopping. Interstate highways tended to be built in similar but not identical locations to the two-lane highways which they superceded Often businesses visible from the two-lane highway were not visible from the new interstate highway. As the interstate highway system expanded, businesses which were optimized for two-lane traffic traffic patterns failed in droves. Since many of the two-lane roadside businesses were also unique and innovative roadside attractions, a more homogenized and boring interstate highway landscape emerged.

Various scholarly studies of the two-lane-to-interstate phenomenon have been created, such as this William C. Gartner article in the Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy .

However, despite the massive disruption of travel and business patterns caused by the interstate highway system replacing two-lane highway, it is manifest that American roadside attractions will never die. The main reasons American roadside attractions will never die are basic human drives, and rugged individualism.

Reason 1: Basic Human Drives

Countless case studies have shown that two aspects of human group behavior cannot be suppressed, namely sexual behavior and economic behavior.

Societal attempts at suppression of sexuality results in an underground sex subculture. For example, Victorian era attempts at societal sexual suppression resulted in vast underground networks of both houses of prostitution and pornography.

Societal attempts at suppression of economic activity result in black markets. Two examples of suppression-driven black markets are the general goods black markets created by Communism, and the liquor black market created by prohibition in the United Statues during 1920-1933.

One fundamental motivation for roadside attractions is economic. The objective is to cause the driver to stop, and hence part with some cash. The creation of roadside attractions as an entrepreneurial economic response is a fundamental human behavior which cannot be suppressed.

Reason 2: One Person Makes a Difference (Rugged Individualism)

Many roadside attractions are the result of the efforts of one individual. Individual efforts are of the types (a) concept and personal construction, (b) personal collections and (c) concept, planning, and supervision.

There will always be individuals with visions for personal creations, collections, or enterprises. These rugged individualists will always exist, and will continue to create according to their personal imaginations. Individual creations are completely unrelated to current fads in highway design and construction.

Some examples of instances of where the vision one person makes a difference (this short list intentionally excludes restaurants. The restaurant list equally long):

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