Appleton, Wisconsin: Strange Horse Statue

But you wouldn't know it was a horse unless someone told you. Appleton's most beloved or reviled piece of public art, depending on who you ask.

Strange Horse Statue

As all have said before, the Strange Horse Statue is still there (I think it is kind of interesting) and the directions and location is accurate. I question why they do not clean the rust off.

[Mark Bertieri, 02/27/2008]

Strange Horse Statue

This piece of "art" is officially called the "Fox Cities Oracle," and is generally referred to as "The Hadzi" by us locals who bother to refer to it at all. It was created by a sculptor named Dimitri Hadzi, who I'm sure regards Appleton as some uneducated backwater, based on the generally negative response to his creation.

If you actually make the trip to see it (!), it's on the little triangle patch of grass between S. Oneida and S. Appleton Streets as you're crossing the bridge from the South. You'll be dangerously close to the Houdini exhibit at the Outagamie County Museum, so I'd suggest checking that out instead (And, yes, I do recall the local newspaper initially referring to the sculpture as "a camel sniffing an erection.").

[LTR, 04/12/2007]

Strange Horse Statue

This is regarding the large, contemporary statue in downtown Appleton. About twenty years ago, I was a producer at a local TV station in Green Bay when they were installing the statue. We were not allowed to say "Appleton is erecting a statue" because of the obvious resemblance it had to a penis. Twenty years later it is still there, still ugly and has become a largely ignored piece of concrete wallpaper.

[Mary Schmidt, 09/19/2005]

Strange Horse Statue

Other tips have referred to this statue as a horse rubbing up to a penis. Anyone wanting to make the trip into downtown Appleton should know one thing. It is a piece of what looks like modern art. Parts of it resemble what others have posted -- it depends how great an imagination you have and what angle you view the structure. Personally, I see neither a horse or a penis, but I really don't see art either. I leave it for whom ever wishes to see it, but I view it as a great disappointment from the other stories I've read.

[Jim G, 10/16/2004]

Strange Horse Statue

The statue is actually called "The Oracle" and is a bit more modern than the traditional bronze horse statue I was anticipating. However, it does indeed resemble a horse nuzzling a penis. It is located across from the Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Appleton, just over the Oneida Street (?) bridge. There was a postcard of the statue for in a bookstore downtown.

[Honey, 02/29/2004]