Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Gearhead Curios Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Gearhead Curios

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration
    Photo of Kathy F.
    141
    765
    4206

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ava S.
    0
    12
    7

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Gearhead Curios

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Big Brutus

    Big Brutus

    4.5(21 reviews)
    21.4 mi

    Wandering across western Kansas, I happened upon this incredible piece of machinery. Operated from…read more1963-1974, this is still the largest electric shovel in the world with a 90 cubic yard bucket. Pictures don't do the size of this any justice. They even let you climb inside, wander through, and sit in the operator's chair. There is a nice little museum with lots of great information. I had no idea there was (and still is) a very large coal field running under the middle of the country. A great piece of history, well preserved and worth a detour if you are in the area.

    I knew this thing was going to be big but it wasn't until I spotted it soaring over the treeline…read morethat I understood. Oh, and it's a little below grade. Big brutus is a Bucyrus-Erie model 1850B electric shovel. Yes, electric. Massive powerlines would be fed into this monster so that it could clear "overburden" and make it possible for other, smaller devices to mine the coal. At 160 feet high and weighing 11 million pounds, the draw makes 15,000 horsepower and could lift 150 tons of coal. It is therefore the largest existing electric shovel on the planet. Open for climbing (the boom is since closed because of insurance limitations), you can go inside the operator's cabin, walk around the interior body and take selfies in the massive shovel or next to one of the huge crawler tracks. Look out over the lake in front of it - Big Brutus cleared all of that in its heyday before it finally shut down due to environmental concerns. The attached museum has other mementoes telling the story of local mining and there is a movie that shows the machine in action. [Review 19773 overall - 40 in Kansas - 745 of 2023.]

    Photos
    Big Brutus
    Big Brutus - Big Brutus, West Mineral

    Big Brutus, West Mineral

    Big Brutus - Big Brutus, West Mineral

    See all

    Big Brutus, West Mineral

    Coleman Theatre - Green room

    Coleman Theatre

    4.9(14 reviews)
    19.0 mi

    What a gem in little ole Ottawa county Oklahoma! If you've never been on a tour of the Coleman…read moreTheatre, it's a must see! I can't believe this was my first time. The history is fantastic! It's stunning inside. I hope to come back and see some kind of production in the future. They give excellent tours. Definitely check this out if you're cruising Route 66!

    Absolutely Gorgeous!…read more This theater was built in one year by businessman George Coleman Sr. because he wanted vaudville to come to Miami, OK. That's pronounced "My-am-uh" The outside is notable. The inside is palacial. Gifted to the city by the decendant of the original owner, the city thought to knock it down. It was in need of restoration and the city did not have the funds. Local citizens banded together to save this theater from demolition doing repairs themselves, a little at a time as the money trickled in. Boy has that labor of love been worth it! The original 1928 Wurlitzer organ was sold after the advent of modern movies when it was no long necessary for live music to accompany films. During the restoration process a stranger overheard a conversation about locating the origial organ to reinstall it at the theater. This stranger knew who owned that organ! After much fundraising, the original organ is back in it's place. The theater has remained open through the years for vaudville, stars of stage and screen performed here, movies from silent era to today, community theater group performances and they host the local elementary school Christmas concerts. Volunteer docents give tours of the lobby and theater to visitors. There is no fee, but they accept donations toward continued restoration. Definitely worth a visit.

    Photos
    Coleman Theatre
    Coleman Theatre
    Coleman Theatre - View

    See all

    View

    Gearhead Curios - landmarks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...