If you're on the road this summer, you may find yourself looking at a scenic vista through one of those coin-operated viewing machines. You know the ones — binoculars on poles, encased in a metal shell. And if you do, there's a good chance you're looking through a machine assembled in a small factory in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Off the Path Revisited: America's Favorite Viewing Machine
![Tower Optical employees service a row of machines and collect quarters outside Johnny’s Reef in City Island, N.Y.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6655a09/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2016x1512+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwshu%2Ffiles%2F201811%2Fotp1.jpg)
Davis Dunavin
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WSHU