 Granny's Closet Bunyan. |
Roadside statues and other tributes to the Great Tree-Biter, Paul Bunyan
Note: A more current listing of Paul Bunyan Muffler Men can be found on the M-Man Tracking Chart.
Arizona
- Flagstaff: Here's a jpg of the lumberjack/Bunyan that stands outside Granny's Closet (formerly the Lumberjack Cafe) along Route 66 in Flagstaff. [Martin Ince]
- Flagstaff: Two Bunyans -
- Tucson:
California
- Klamath: Talking Bunyan and Babe at Trees of Mystery.
- San Jose: we instantly remembered the 20'-25' Paul Bunyan statue we've seen at "Babe's Muffler's".. the station is located in downtown San Jose (near the San Jose Arena, I believe on San Carlos street). [joe and drew, 5/17/98]
- Porterville: There is a huge Paul Bunyan and his blue ox in Porterville, CA. The Bunyan statue is in front of the Paul Bunyan Motel and the blue ox is on top of the motel's restaurant named the Blue Ox. They can be seen if you are heading North on highway 65 in Porterville. [Stephani Stewart, 2/26/98] - Since reported GONE.
- Westwood: Red River Lumber Company invented Paul Bunyan -- they also built the town of Westwood, in Lassen County California where the Chamber of Commerce had a giant wooden statue of Babe the Blue Ox and Paul Bunyan installed a few years ago. It is worth seeing. [Randy and Pat Church, 12/22/98]
Colorado
- South Fork: There is a 19-foot logger statue in front of the Hungry Logger Restaurant. South Fork is a small town (?) located on US Highway 160, about 100 miles east of Durango, Colorado. The logger is an unpainted Paul Bunyan look-alike.....named Big'un. He was carved from the trunk of a 450 year old Douglas Fir. The statue is holding a crosscut saw and is leaning forward with a cheesy grin on his face. If you ever take a trip to Mesa Verde or the Four Corners, be sure to wander through South Fork and get a photo...but don't plan on staying around......the locals don't like folks making fun of their logger friend. [Eric Schwab]
Florida
- Seminole: A 25-foot, 1,200 pound statue stands atop the Starkey Road Auto Parts store. AKA Big Man. In 1995, a fire engulfed the store, but the Bunyan was unscathed. Originally sold tires at Webb's City ("The World's Most Unusual Drug Store," which closed in 1980.).
Idaho
- Coeur d'Alene: Burger-Hoisting Paul Bunyan 20-feet tall, and winking, at the Paul Bunyan Pak-Out hamburger stand on Northwest Boulevard.
- St. Maries: Orphaned Paul Bunyan 25-feet tall, holds a huge ax and looms near the Heyburn Elementary School. His origins are hazy; he's been around since the late 1960's, when townsfolk found him in a field.
Illinois
Chicago: I swear the Museum of Science and Industry
in Chicago that used to have a room that slanted, and you were in a house,
at tree level, and one window you could see Paul Bunyan's right hand, one
window you saw his head, and his eyes moved, and the other hand was in the
other window.... [Daniel Hanna]
The last time I was at the Museum of Science and Industry
they still had the log cabin with Paul looking in the window. About an 8 foot
diagonal face -- the cabin was tilted like a mystery
spot but the impression was that Paul had picked it up. [K.
Bartlett-Sloan] The exhibit is long gone and was taken down in the 1970's. It was there for
many years in the wood exhibit area. Paul would tell tall tales and move his
eyes. There were knot holes in the wall that one could peek in and see related
Bunyan characters. Kids who grew up in the 40's and 50's and 60's will certainly
remember this icon. [Mark Edwards]- Evergreen Park:
- Libertyville: A Bunyan, at Lamb's Farm. He is accompanied, not by Babe the Blue Ox, but by a fiberglass "Bessie" the brown cow, and a fiberglass milk bottle. Lamb's Farm is a community for mentally handicapped adults, a tourist attraction since 1961. [K. Bartlett-Sloan]
Indiana
- Muncie: There is a Paul Bunyan statue in Muncie that is currently located at Timbers Lounge, 2770 W. Kilgore Ave. This statue is at least 20 feet tall and used to be located at a former lumber yard called On the Point Lumber. This statue has been around Muncie for at least 25 years. [Tim Green]
Maine
- Bangor: Paul Bunyan statue stands at his birthplace. 31-feet tall, in Bass Park, next to the Chamber of Commerce. He came to life in Stephen King's novel, IT .
- Rumford: Center of town off Rt. 2
 Manistique Bunyan [with Muffler Man body?] |
Michigan
- Alpena: Paul Bunyan Made Of Car Parts. 30 feet tall. Built for defunct Paul Bunyan Gas Station on Main Street of Grayling, at original cost of $4,500, by artist Betty Conn and architect Edward X. Tuttle. Old Kaisers parts were gleaned from Detroit junk yards. Moved to the grounds of Alpena Community College in 1998. 666 Johnson St. Alpena, 49707.
- Manistique: Alert! Muffler Man disguised as Paul Bunyan Sighted in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Highway 2 outside of Manistique. Hard to believe he's gone undetected all this time. Guess he blended in with the natives! [Sasha & Gretchen Dziadosz, 4/4/98]
- Careful inspection of the Paul Bunyan in Manistique, Michigan, reveals that his boots, jeans, belt, rolled-up shirt sleeves, and even his beard are integral sculpted parts of his fiberglass body. This is definitely no converted Muffler Man. [Craig Thom, 5/28/98]
- Oscoda: On US 23,in a park near a school, inside a chain-link fence. Tribute to James MacGillivary, author of Bunyan tales, who was town native and is buried here. May be accompanied by a Babe the Blue Ox.
- Ossineke: Paul Bunyan is 25.5 feet, 11.5 tons; Babe is 10.5 feet, 4.5 tons. Has been victim of an eerie act of vandalism. Three miles south of Dinosaur Gardens.
- St. Ignace: Seated Paul Bunyan and Babe, after a long day felling trees. He sits below the Castle Rock Lookout, about an hour south of the Canadian border.
Minnesota
- Akeley:Kneeling Paul Bunyan 20 feet tall (maybe the claimed 33 feet, if he was standing), across from Paul's Purple Cow Ice Cream Parlor. Akeley is "Birthplace and Home of World's Largest Paul Bunyan Statue." His cradle was here when we visited.
- Bloomington: a 19-foot Bunyan, part of the Mall of America
- Bemidji: Paul Bunyan and Babe Statues, built in the 1930's.
- Blackduck: Paul Bunyan's Duck.
-
Brainerd: The 26 feet tall Talking Bunyan, long a fixture at the now defunct Paul Bunyan Amusement Center, can now be seen at This Old Farm outside of town, along with Babe the Blue Ox and Sport the Dog.
Bemidji Bunyan and Babe, looming next to Lake Bemidji since 1937. BTW, Bemidji has been voted one of the "100 Best Small Towns in America"! [photo courtesy of Bemidji Chamber of Commerce] - Brainerd: In 2005, a seated Paul Bunyan was erected outside a new welcome center 5 miles south of town.
- Chisholm: "There is a statue of Paul Bunyan inside one of the buildings at the Minnesota Museum of Mining. I know of this statue because it scared the living s**t out of my when I was a little kid in the '60's. I believe it's at the main curve of highway 169 in Chisholm...last visited in 1992." [Jon A. Egger, 3/24/97]
- Hackensack: Statue of Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart, Lucette Diana Kensack, 17 feet tall, on the east shore of Birch Lake.
- Kelliher: Paul Bunyan's Grave, in Paul Bunyan Memorial Park.
- Ortonville: Paul Bunyan's Anchor, weighs 225,000 lbs., and is mounted on four granite pillars. Looks like a big rectangular piece of rock with a chunk of metal chain sticking out of the top. At an overlook above Big Stone Lake.
Missouri
- Sullivan: a 20-foot tall Bunyan-Muffler Man, near I-44. [Bob Tubbs-Avalon, 3/9/97]
- Sullivan: This giant is a lumberjack holding (what else) an ax. This fellow has a red cap on his head, red shirt, blue pants and black boots. The last time I photographed him, he even had a few arrows in his chest. I do not know who is responsible for shooting the lumberjack, but it shows a total lack of respect for the fiberglass giant. One can view this giant/muffler man easily from your car heading west on Interstate 44 or heading east on old Route 66. [Shellee Graham, 11/26/97]
New Jersey
- Ortley Beach: In the seaside resort town of Ortley Beach, just north of Seaside Heights, there is a miniature golf course that has a muffler man statue of Paul Bunyan on the links -- the same one featured in your books and Web site The statue is taken down for the winter, but is put back up every spring for the summer tourist season. The golf course is on Rt. 35 north in that town. Check it out this summer! [Will Hill, 3/28/98]
New Mexico
- Albuquerque: I spied a Bunyan along Central Avenue (yes, I was
doing a little Route 66ing). But why is he there? He doesn't seem to be associated
with a neighboring business. I've got a picture.
[Craig S. Thom, 6/11/97]
Just wanted to give you a little background on the ol' Paul Bunyan on 111 Louisiana & Central here in Albuquerque...I've heard that where he stands used to be a lumber yard, but now his rugged presence stands guard most closely over the May Cafe, being the only Bunyan outside a Vietnamese restaurant that I know of... [Matthew Celeskey, 11/25/97]
New York
- Elmsford: Paul Bunyan Statue. At a gas station on Route 9A, just
east of where the Sprain Parkway intersects I-287.
- Lake George: He is located in the Great Escape Amusement Park
in Lake George, NY (1172 State Route 9). The last time I saw it was the summer
of 97. He's located pretty much right near the entrance of the park. He's
wearing a hat, green flannel shirt with red turtleneck, and holding an ax
in his right hand. [Lili, 2/2/99]
Lake George Bunyan
- Old Forge: Inside the entrance of Water Safari - Enchanted Forest, a bearded, hatless Bunyan stands, flanneled chest jutting, a log supporting one hand and an ax the other. Visitors to the water park can join the Paul Bunyan Club, and receive discounts on subsequent visits. One hour north of Utica Thruway Exit 31 on Route 28.
- Rochester: at the base of Portland Ave. I think that there was a Blue Ox there at one time before the Rochester riots. Maybe this is what it was all about! Rochester's riots were only second to the Watts riots. I wonder-- [Gerald Wilson, 8/2/98]
North Dakota
- New Town: Earl Bunyan Statue. Supposed brother of Paul. "Cowboy of the Plains," it says on the simulated wood slab that stands at his feet. "Dreamed up by Fred and Berd LaRocque, 1958." About 20 feet tall and thin -- a string bean with a mustache. Stands atop a pile of rocks, wears a cowboy hat, boots, and tight-fitting jeans. On the south side of ND 23 east of town.
Ohio
- Nelsonville: A seventeen-foot-tall Bunyan, frying hotcakes, with a nine-foot Babe at his side. On the grounds of Hocking College, they were originally made by the Hoover vacuum cleaner company for a float in the Football Hall of Fame parade. Paul's suspenders are made of conveyor belts from the vacuum cleaner factory; the buttons on his flannel shirt are vacuum cleaner wheels. Babe is covered with 100 pounds of dried coconut shavings because the Hoover Co. thought he should be furry.
 Metropolitan Bunyan, Portland, OR |
Oklahoma
- Aline: There is a huge Paul Bunyan with an ax towering over a junked car site near Aline, OK off of Highway 8 south of Cherokee OK. It is a funny sight because it looks like he has just demolished the hundreds of cars inside the compound. [Lois Guffy, 6/2/98]
Oregon
- Butte Falls: Another Paul Bunyan Brother: Ralph was the younger brother. The statue in City Park, carved in wood by local folk artist Bill Edmondson, is "life-size" or about six feet tall, on a three-foot tall stump.
- Portland: Paul Bunyan Statue. 35 feet tall, erected in 1959 to greet visitors to the Oregon Centennial Exposition. At the intersection of North Denver and Interstate Avenue.
Washington
- Port Townsend: There is a fiberglass Paul Bunyan somewhere around Port Townsend. [Harry Whitmore, 7/17/97]
- Puyallup: There is a Paul Bunyan at the Paul Bunyan Rifle and Sportsman Club. He is one of the fiberglass statues that is a cousin to the muffler man statues. The club acquired him around 1991 from a motel in downtown Puyallup after his ankles were broke in a windstorm. I am the recording secretary at the Paul Bunyan Rifle Club. We are a private member shooting range that has been in the Puyallup area since 1945. We are very proud to have Paul as our mascot! [Harry Whitmore, 7/17/97]
- Shelton: A Paul Bunyan-Muffler Man that appears in the Forest Festival
Parade each year.
Wisconsin
-
Eau
Claire: Paul Bunyan and Babe Statues.
- Wabeno: Muffler Man Paul Bunyan 21 feet, 9 inches tall. Also known as "Larry the Logroller," he's at the Wabeno Logging Museum, and dressed to look like Paul Bunyan He holds what looks like an ax in his twisted hands.
- On the Hwy. 51 North in Minoqua, Wisconsin is Paul Bunyan's restaurant. This restaurant features an approximately 25' Bunyan w/ Babe in the parking lot. [Mark Balconi 10/10/98]
- Poynette: Located at the Mackenzie Wildlife Center and Game Farm, this guy is hard to find. He's been there since at least the '60s, and he looks it (a little moth-eaten). Since he looks so bad, the management keeps the door closed on him, but an enterprising soul can easily open it [ RA: An action not officially condoned by this Web site] and pay his respects. He is there sans Babe. The wildlife center is an attraction unto itself. It has lots of nature trails, a few musty neglected self-guided museums, and a mini-zoo that contains a collection of animals that wouldn't survive in the wild alone. They also raise pheasants there for release and slaughter on Wisconsin state hunting lands. Sporty! And the best part of all of it is...IT'S FREE! [Regan Mack, 6/11/97]
