Let’s talk Statues. One of my favorite subjects, if not yours. Here are some wonderful things now missing from our public landscapes.
The seven-foot-tall Owl in Orem, UT was built in 2011 for a crepe-focused restaurant. My photo from 2014. Missing in 2018. I hope he’s safe somewhere:
The funky bucking bull with the taxidermy face in Kanab, UT is gone now, too. So is the restaurant it was installed in front of:
The International Fiberglass “Giant Man” (IF’s name — nicknamed “Muffler Men” in the 1990s) in Compton, CA disappeared last year. No one, not even Joel, knows where he is:
The Giant Waitress in Flint, MI which stood on top of the sign at the Colonial Coney Island & Family Restaurant from 1978-2014. She was supposedly put in storage but no one was sure just where:
In July, she resurfaced and was moved on to a private collection. Better than being destroyed but too bad that she couldn’t a) be public and b) stay in Flint. This article describes her restoration and other details:
https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2018/07/big_girl_statue_that_overlooke.html
Moving on to the Eateries section at my website. The Dairy Queen clown sign in Seelyville, IN is gone now. It seemed inevitable since it appeared to be abandoned for decades. It was still there in 2013 but gone by last year. There are only three examples of these waving, mechanical DQ clown signs known to still exist. Info at my website here:
http://www.roadarch.com/eateries/dq.html#Clown
This Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop in Macomb, IL had been abandoned since around 2007 and is gone now:
The Chocolate Moose in Bloomington, IN moved to the boring building next door and this sweet A-frame walk-up was demolished in 2016:
The Bohemian Cafe in Omaha, NE closed in 2016. These signs were gone by 2018. The colorful building remains vacant:
The East Park Restaurant in Ravenna, OH closed around 2014 and was demolished in 2016. By last year, this sign and the long-closed drive-in canopy and building behind it were gone:
This former Sambo’s sign in Willamina, OR was always a mystery. There was never a Sambo’s there so it came from someplace else and got reworked. There are no other Sambo’s or former Sambo’s signs that still have the yellow spike. This sign disappeared last year:
Lots more signs in the next post. But if the above subjects appeal to you, check out all the surviving statues & great restaurant buildings that still survive at my website:
dj
RoadArch.com companion 