Wender·Vista
Verrückt
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
in Kansas City, Kansas

Verrückt

— — the tallest slide there ever was.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The world's tallest waterslide, while it stood: 168 feet 7 inches of steel and fibreglass at Schlitterbahn Kansas City. Verrückt means crazy in German, and the engineering was. Riders climbed 264 steps, then dropped at fifty miles an hour. It opened in July 2014, closed after a fatal accident in August 2016, and was demolished in 2018. The record still belongs to it.

from the studio
Verrückt
— bring it home

Verrückt, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Verrückt

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Verrückt stood at the Schlitterbahn Kansas City Waterpark in Wyandotte County, Kansas, about five miles west of downtown Kansas City. At 168 feet 7 inches tall, certified by Guinness World Records in 2014, it was the tallest waterslide ever built. The structure was a multi-storey steel frame holding a fibreglass flume, and riders sat in three-person rafts. It opened on 10 July 2014 after delays in calibration and closed on 7 August 2016 following the death of a ten-year-old rider. Demolition began in late 2018.

— the year

The slide was designed in 2012 by Jeffery Henry and John Schooley as an attraction for a season of the Travel Channel's Xtreme Waterparks. Early test runs sent dummies airborne and forced substantial recalibration of the second-hill geometry. After opening, the ride logged a series of injuries; a 2018 grand jury indictment named design and construction failures as causes of the August 2016 fatality. The criminal case was dismissed in 2019 on procedural grounds. The Schlitterbahn Kansas City park itself closed in 2021 and the land was redeveloped.

— where
United States · Wyandotte County, Kansas
— within
Schlitterbahn Kansas City (former site)
— elevation
250 m · 820 ft
— position
39.1196° N · 94.8260° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km W
Kansas Speedway
motor speedway
1 km W
Children's Mercy Park
soccer stadium
1 km W
Legends Outlets
shopping district
8 km E
Kansas City downtown
city centre
N
Verrückt
Kansas Speedway
Children's Mercy Park
Legends Outlets
Kansas City downtown
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Verrückt — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

168 feet 7 inches, certified by Guinness World Records on 15 May 2014 as the tallest waterslide in the world. The record has not been broken; no other slide of that height has been built.

At the Schlitterbahn Kansas City Waterpark in Wyandotte County, Kansas, about five miles west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The park itself closed in 2021.

Verrückt is German for crazy or mad. Schlitterbahn, the parent waterpark chain founded in New Braunfels, Texas, has a German-Texan heritage and gives most of its rides German names.

No. The slide closed on 7 August 2016 following a fatal accident and was demolished in late 2018. The Schlitterbahn Kansas City park itself closed in 2021 and the land has been redeveloped.

Jeffery Henry, co-owner of Schlitterbahn, and ride designer John Schooley. Both were later indicted in connection with the 2016 fatality; the criminal case against them was dismissed in 2019.

— about the piece in your home

It can be. For many former riders and staff the tile reads as a marker of a record that briefly existed and the park that was. A Keepsake or Small with a handwritten note travels well for that purpose.

The high steel structure and summer-sky palette suit Industrial-Modern, Mid-century, and Pop-Maximalist rooms. The tile reads strongly against exposed brick, painted concrete, and clean white walls.

A single Large fits a console wall. For a sofa, a four-tile Mural reads better at distance, and a nine-tile Mural anchors a larger feature wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and hold up to steam and splashes. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces.

A microfibre cloth and water. No solvents, no abrasive pads. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish and will not lift.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is created in our Knoxville studio under Reid Wender's eye. We do not license imagery from other artists, and the work does not appear in any other catalogue.

— if this one stayed with you

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