‘World’s smallest Target,’ a fake store with mysterious origins, demolished in Texas

The smallest Target in the world — which wasn’t actually a store at all — is no longer standing.

The tiny cinderblock structure by railroad tracks in West Texas was transformed into a tourist attraction after someone painted the famous red bullseye on its wall.

You could even find the fake Target on Google Maps and TripAdvisor, where it had favorable reviews. It was located along U.S. Highway 90 between the small towns of Alpine and Marathon, and the nearest real Target was 150 miles away.

“Now the inventory is questionable and the customer service nonexistent, but my goodness check out those views,” Visit Marathon Texas posted on Facebook.

It first appeared several years ago, but the creator remains a mystery, according to Visit Marathon Texas, a tourism bureau for the town. It’s speculated the Target was an answer to an art installation of a Prada store in Marfa, a hub for artists about 40 miles west down the highway.

The structure was recently demolished, Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson told Marfa Public Radio.

“It was becoming very unsafe,” Dodson told the public radio station.

The sheriff said vandals have stolen concrete blocks, which made the structure unstable, and an increase in swarming bees was posing a threat, Marfa Public Radio reported.

A KOSA reporter shared a photo of the rubble.

Chris Ruggia, the tourism director for Alpine, told KXAN the Target will be missed.

“I think it’s a shame because it’s a sweet and delightful thing to surprise people as they are driving along the stretch of isolated highway,” Ruggia told KXAN.

This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 4:27 PM with the headline "‘World’s smallest Target,’ a fake store with mysterious origins, demolished in Texas."