I have to keep coming up with new words to describe my various geo-oddity fascinations. Today I coined “bordersplit.” It refers to an object cleaved by a boundary line. The way I figure it, if we can use landlocked legitimately then bordersplit should be treated the same way even if it doesn’t exist in a dictionary.
This particular fixation has roots in my November 2009 article discussing a restaurant in North Carolina that sits directly atop a county tripoint. The larger situation has long fascinated me but my collection of examples began in earnest with that discovery. Let me share a few bordersplit objects with you.
As you consider these instances it may be worth noting that we’ve observed previously that Google Maps borders don’t have exact precision. They can be off by as much as a couple of hundred feet so don’t let that trip you up.
Zugspitze
The Zugspitze is a mountain of the Wetterstein Range that includes the German highpoint within its ridges. It also straddles the border between Germany and Austria (map). This provides plenty of opportunities for entertainment.
Rick Steves writes in the Seattle Times [link no longer works] that,
“There are two separate terraces –Bavarian and Tirolean — connected by a narrow walk, which was the border station. Crossing used to be a big deal — you’d get your passport stamped at the little blue house and shift your currency from shillings to marks. While the border formalities are long gone, regional pride still shines here.”
Tourists can take a cog railway or a cable car to the summit from Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the German side, or a cable car from Ehrwald on the Austrian side.
La Cure
TimesOnline, in an article describing Three of France’s Best Drives [link no longer works] mentions a situation on the border between France and Switzerland. “Later, hop the mile to La Cure, where the Bar-Hôtel Arbez sits bang on the Franco-Swiss border. Order white wine in France, move two feet along the bar, and drink it in Switzerland.”
I could get pretty close to the building in Street View on the Swiss side of the border. I think there might be an even better view from the French side, but Street View doesn’t cover it yet.
Haskell Free Library and Opera House
The combination of a library and an opera house is an unusual juxtaposition in its own right, but it gets even better. This oddity exists on the border between Derby Line, Vermont, USA and Stanstead, Québec, Canada (map).
Check out this statement from the Scenes of Vermont [link no longer works] website.
“The world-famous Haskell Free Library and Opera House on Caswell Avenue here is probably the only cultural institution on this planet with a split personality. That’s because the U.S./Canadian border slices right through the Kenneth Baldwin International Reading Room. You enter the lovely turn-of-the-century building in Vermont, but you check out the books — your choice of English or French — in Quebec. And, the librarian who assists you may be either a citizen of the United States or Canada, or both and, probably bilingual.”
For those contemplating an operatic performance, its worth noting that the audience sits in the United States while the artists on-stage perform from within Canada. I’m not sure if this creates passport complications.
The State Line Restaurant
The El Paso Times noted in its “Best of the Border 2007” [once again, link no longer works… hey, what did you expect? This is a really old article] competition that the best restaurant in the West / Upper Valley was called the State Line (map).
“The State Line straddles the border of Texas and New Mexico. So is it technically the Best in the West? Who knows. But there is definitely no disputing the quality of the barbecue. A word of advice: be ready with lots of napkins and a healthy appetite. The ribs are tender, the other meat flavorful, and the sauce a tad spicy. And the bread loaves, white or wheat, are hard to resist. Go ahead, let out the belt a little bit.”
Mmm… barbecue. Let me rest here for a moment and take in some of that smoky goodness.
Border Station
All those Yankees heading out to their summer weekend homes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks have an opportunity to experience some true bordersplitting as they motor down Route 168, the Caratoke Highway.
This is the Border Station, allegedly the world’s second-largest convenience store. I have absolutely no ability to confirm that assertion but I’m repeating it anyway. Nobody can dispute, however, that the North Carolina / Virginia border cuts directly through the building. Visitors can stop for gas, pick up cheap cigarettes, eat at the Dairy Queen or even rent a U-Haul truck, all from this unusually bifurcated location. Need I say more?
United States Post Office
Texarkana looks like a single city on a map but it’s actually two separate cities with the same name that blend into each other. One is on the Texas side of the border and the other is on the Arkansas side of the border. The name, derived from Texas-Arkansas, shortens to Texarkana. Linguists call this a “portmanteau.”
Texarkana On-Line features a rather unique building in this combo-city, using bureaucratic prose (map).
“United States Post Office And Courthouse: Currently only federal post office building to straddle state line. Present Texas-Arkansas state boundary (Established in 1842 by United States and Republic of Texas) passes through center. Each state had separate post offices until 1892, when first joint office was built on this site. It was razed in 1930, and in 1933 the present structure was completed. The base is of Texas pink granite while walls are of limestone from Arkansas. -Recorded Texas Historic Landmark — 1970”
Can anyone add other bordersplit structures to my list?
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