Chehalis, Washington -
Yard Bird Statues

Yard Bird Statues

The goofy Yard Birds are cartoon mascot leftovers of a defunct chain store. Roadsideamerica.com Report...

Yard Bird Statue - Birdfest Fundraising

"Birdfest 2011" will be held in the Yard Birds parking lot on June 25, 2011, to raise the money needed to finish repairs on the Yard Bird statue. Years of weather have eaten a hole into its back, exposing the hollow interior that once sheltered the helicopter of the owners of a quirky surplus store (Santa would use the chopper to arrive every Christmas).

Although the store itself has changed hands several times, Yard Bird has remained, and has in recent years acquired a Bunyanesque status in the region as a kind of folkloric hero. Music for Birdfest will be supplied by members of the Ventures, the Kingsmen, and Washington state Lt. Gov. Brad Owen. [RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 06/24/2011]

Yard Bird - Yardbirds Mall

Much has been said over the years about the Yardbird located in the parking lot at 2100 N National Ave in Chehalis, Wa. But little do people realize the number of lives this ICON has affected. We had a Yardbirds reunion two years ago and had a thousand people here being interviewed with funny stories and the greeting of old friends that had not been seen for years. The bird you see has been through various floods and still sits proud in front of the Yardbirds Mall. Now a movie has been released, to be shown locally on 6/17/2009 and then shown in the Yardbirds Mall on a regular basis.

Yardbirds was Walmart before there ever was a Walmart. Now it houses a Tattoo Parlor, Second Hand Store, 12 Step Club, drug counseling center, Chehalis High School, a theater that shows Spanish and English movies, a computer repair shop, an antique and variety Store, a specialty shoe store for diabetics, a huge grocery Store, and more. [Yardbird Bob, 06/07/2009]

Yard Birds - Origin

The Yard Birds were originally drawn by Bing Orr, a graduate of Anda High School (1959), who was hired to draw the large cartoon-like advertising that was common at the time. He might have created the logo of two crow-like figures. In any case, as the years went by, each Yard Bird sculpture seemed to get bigger and bigger, until the colossus-scale standing Yard Bird of the late 1960s, which was easily forty feet high. I imagine Bing [may have] had a hand in building all these sculptures. [DP, 12/31/2007]

Yard Bird Statue

On August 5th, 2006, the giant Yard Bird in Chehalis will get a facelift! My friend is thoroughly obsessed with the store and everything it used to be, and decided that the bird needed a makeover. We've got permission, and a lot donated paint. It should be an all-day party centered around painting the Yard Bird.

Make a special trip...plan your whole summer around it! [Peter Carlson, 05/31/2006]

[RA: Pete let us know that "The big bird used to store the owner's helicopter, according to the current manager."]