As we sadly said goodbye to the Chicago Rat Hole this week, it seems a good time to indulge in another tongue-in-cheek landmark close to Chicago.
Roughly 80 miles south west from Chicagoland in Ottawa, Illinois lies ‘Volvo Island‘ where a single 2001 silver Volvo S80 sedan has lorded over a tiny island in the middle of a lake for around 12 years.
The island, which is not much bigger than the car itself, has been officially named “Volvo Island” on Google and the silver car has been visible on Google Maps Street View since 2015.
It even has a 4.9-star rating on Google with over 300 reviews, some dating back years, and even more flooding in over the past few days.
According to the owner of the island, Scott Mann, a proprietor of two car repair shops in the area, the man-made lake was formerly a mine before it was flooded.
While the island was still connected to land in 2012, Mann towed the Volvo sedan onto the island and excavated around it to make it fit just the car itself.
He had intended to have people guess how it “mysteriously” ended up there but with the island now surrounded by 38-foot-deep water, he abandoned the idea for fear of kids trying to reach the island.
For now, the car sits in good condition and the island is clocking up positive reviews by the day with some calling it “rich in history”, “majestic”, “a premier tourist attraction” and, for a few, “a life-changing experience”.
[Featured image from Google Maps Street View]