It’s been a horribly depressing July here in the former colonies, but there was one story that lifted my spirits and gave me a moment of joy.

Just ahead of the August fortieth anniversary of the release of the 1985 film, the Alamo has acquired the iconic, custom Schwinn DX Cruiser that appeared on screen in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Directed by Tim Burton and cowritten by Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman, Herman travels cross country in search of his stolen bicycle hitchhiking to Texas after being told by a fake psychic that his beloved bike is in the basement of the San Antonio mission. The film prop will go on display in the visitors’ center and museum of the Alamo, in the sublevel that famously did not exist at the time of the shooting, a space below the gift shop also used as a reception hall.  This accession was undertaken by a private trust that maintains the monument’s collections.