Three Rivers, California - Paul Bunyan Wooden Statue

I have lived in Porterville most of my life and when I was a kid (20 some years ago) we used to go to the Paul Bunyan Lodge to eat at the restaurant. A while back it was on a downhill slide quality-wise, then was sold to some Middle Eastern people.

They did a little fixing up here and there and decided to change the name and image of the motel. The Paul Bunyan Lodge was rechristened the Palm Tree Inn and the owners thought it would be creative to paint the trunks of the dozen or so 50 ft. palms that line the south side with alternating colors. The people of this town could not stand the sight of that, and after many complaints the paint was removed.

The redwood Paul Bunyan was given back to the man who made it originally. It can now be seen as you are coming into Three Rivers on Hwy 198 north of Porterville. Babe the Blue Ox is at the Porterville Fair Grounds on the east side of town where Olive Avenue runs into Plano Street. [Robert Berge, 09/26/2005]

Paul Bunyan welcomes all passersby outside the entrance to the Three Rivers Historical Museum. [Jeff, 01/19/2005]

[RA: A 16-foot-tall, somewhat unusual version of Paul Bunyan -- bare-chested and without his signature cap. Carved from redwood, he appears to have a dead animal slung across his back.]

After seeing your extensive listing of Paul Bunyan locations, I was inspired to pack up the family and visit the town of Porterville, CA, just for the "bragging rights" of having visited the Paul Bunyan Motel. Alas, this "famous landmark" may have gone the way of the Dodo Bird and has gone to the Great Storybookland in the sky. When I visited the Porterville Motel, all that remained of poor Paul and his Ox was a 20 ft. ax atop the motel. [Jaime Aragon, 07/06/2002]

There is a huge Paul Bunyan and his blue ox in Porterville. 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, 02/26/1998]

[RA: October 2005 - Anna Newman sent a photo of the chainsaw carved Bunyan when he still stood at the Paul Bunyan Motel.]