Starship Pegasus

Travelers on I-35 stopping to take a bathroom break in Italy, Texas, are greeted by an otherworldly sight; a starship appearing to have just landed from an interstellar flight.

Starship Pegasus, a monolithic dome structure, was begun in 2004 and completed in 2005 by owner Andy Gee. Gee gave the spaceship its name in honor of Pegasus, Zeus’s winged horse in Greek mythology; a ship named the USS Pegasus (NCC-53847) in the Star Trek TV series; and Betty and Barney Hill, who claimed to have been abducted by aliens from the Pegasus Constellation in the 1960s.

It was originally operated as a restaurant and family entertainment center but closed in 2007. The site hosted a flea market in the early 2010s.

Update: Unfortunately, in May 2017 the site was demolished about a year after McDonald’s bought the property.