An Icon is Born: Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf Gets Own Version of
Major Hollywood Landmark

July 17, 2011

Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf has added its own version of Hollywood’s iconic Crossroads of the World to the Branson, Missouri skyline. The 30-foot Star-O-Meter creates a new fun finale for the miniature golf game. Fabricated by Native signs in Branson, the spire maintains the art deco feel of the original National Register Landmark but replaces the rotating globe on top with a golf ball.

Branson’s newest mini-golf course brings players on a journey through Hollywood as they take the 18 steps to becoming a Hollywood star. Along the way, they meet characters who help or hinder their rise to stardom and offer fun photo opportunities throughout the course. (Of course, at Shoot for the Stars, it might be easier to become a star than to make the elusive hole-in-one.)

The final Star Status of guests will now be determined by their last putts. The Star-O-Meter will light up higher and higher on the spire to show the player’s ranking, from one star (Overexposed) to four stars (Legendary). Twenty-four shooting stars, 8,000 animated LEDs and coordinated sound effects are used to create the spectacular finish.

According to Erick Walker of Native Signs, “George Jetson would have loved to have one of these in his home! The entire structure weighs nearly two tons, has more than 1,600 lamps each with five LEDs, and uses solid state animation technology, but runs on less power than what is needed for two household toasters.”

The Star-O-Meter is scaled to one-half the size of the original Crossroads of the World tower, located at 6671 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The famous rounded building and spire were designed by architect Robert V. Derrah to resemble the front of a luxury cruise ship and serves as the portal to nine other now-office buildings comprising a global tribute to architecture. Crossroads of the World opened as an outdoor shopping center on October 29, 1936 on the site of the still unsolved murder of brothel and casino operator Charles Crawford.

Shoot for the Stars Mini-Golf was created by Kuvera Partners, a Los Angeles-based attractions company that founded the Hollywood Wax Museum in 1965. In 2011, the company was recognized with the Beautification Award for improving the Highway 76 strip in Branson.