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All the United States Michigan Charlevoix Former World's Largest Cherry Pie Pan
Gastro Obscura

Former World's Largest Cherry Pie Pan

There's more contention than one might expect from cherry pie pans.

Charlevoix, Michigan

Added By
Michael Inscoe
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Charlevoix’s pie pan   Fickr user calamity_sal/CC BY 2.0
Traverse City’s pie pan  
Here is the plack on the side   soxnd / Atlas Obscura User
Early spring 2019   soxnd / Atlas Obscura User
Facing east from parking lot.   soxnd / Atlas Obscura User
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About

A giant concrete slice of cherry pie sits in a giant pie pan in Charlevoix, Michigan. In front of it handmade wood letters sticking out of the ground spell out “World's Largest Cherry Pie.” About 50 miles south, in Traverse City, another giant pie pan sits next to a sign that boasts “Guinness Book of World Records… Largest Cherry Pie.” Both towns claim their own truth.

Charlevoix says Traverse City’s cherry pie didn’t have a bottom crust, and was therefore null. Traverse City says its pie was bigger, plain and simple. But neither of the pies were as big as the cherry pie made in Oliver, British Columbia, in 1992.

In 1976 Dave Phillips was so ecstatic about America’s bicentennial celebration that he talked several local businesses around Charlevoix into helping make the world’s biggest cherry pie. After building a big enough pie pan, and an oven large enough for it, the town successfully made a 17,420-pound cherry pie during the its annual cherry festival. About 7,000 people were served somewhere around 10,000 slices of record-breaking pie.

The pie held onto the record for just over 10 years. Then, in 1987, the citizens of Traverse City, who had all the cherry trees anyway (there are almost none in Charlevoix), made a larger cherry pie that weighed in at 28,350 pounds.

In 1992 a Canadian bakery made a cherry pie that weighed 37,740 pounds, but they didn’t save the pie pan. So, all speculation aside, the world’s biggest cherry pie pan sits in Traverse City, Michigan, 50 miles from the world’s second biggest pie pan.

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There is a small parking lot on the side, you can park right next to it.

Community Contributors

Added By

Michael Inscoe

Edited By

soxnd, JulieKulak, abe0327 b55a114c

  • soxnd
  • JulieKulak
  • abe0327 b55a114c

Published

July 28, 2017

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Former World's Largest Cherry Pie Pan
6591 US-31
Charlevoix, Michigan
United States
45.301529, -85.2816
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Nearby Places

Terry's of Charlevoix

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Charlevoix

Charlevoix

Michigan

Places 3

Nearby Places

Terry's of Charlevoix

Charlevoix, Michigan

miles away

Earl Young Mushroom Houses

Charlevoix, Michigan

miles away

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Charlevoix

Charlevoix

Michigan

Places 3

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