Essex, Illinois: Jack Barker's Metal Menagerie

Large metal sculptures of animals, bugs, people and more. Made of scrap metal items mostly -- some with moving parts.

This is an update on Jack's metal art. I go there quite often, since he is my father-in-law, to photograph his art work.

Jack Barker is a scrap metal sculptor and collector. The front yard of his garage is filled with metal sculptures he has created over the years. Very cool. If he is there, he will let you tour the inside. He is a super collector of stufffffffff. He still has his high school letterman sweater and leather football helmet (though torn and tattered) hanging from the ceiling.

Chatting with Jack, he said it is his place to get away when he is in the doghouse. "As a matter of fact I have been in the doghouse for the last 42 years," he chuckled.

Very nice place to visit and not far from the Gemini Giant and old route 66.