KATHY STEELE | The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - The bowling pin rises 30 feet from the courtyard floor, peaking just a bit higher than the railing at balcony level at Channelside.

It can lay claim, via roadamerica.com, as the largest pin in the world.

According to Parade magazine, the "giant bowling pin" is number 33 of 50 American originals – those kitschy tourist attractions that no one can resist searching out or maybe just want to scratch their heads about.

Think largest rubber band ball in Eugene, Ore., or largest twine ball in Darwin, Minn.

Or more giant stuff singled out by Parade: giant milk bottles in Richmond, Va. (No. 38); largest baseball bat in Louisville, Ky., of course (No. 25); largest porch swing in Hebron, Neb. (No. 14); and a giant reproduction of Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" on an 80-foot easel in Goodland, Kan. (No. 15).

"It's cute, and it is huge," said Ohio tourist Pansy Stephenson.