Uniroyal Gal: Vanna Whitewall

Peoria, Illinois

Arm position: "Come hither!"

Accessories: none, though she held a tire at one time

The 17-ft. tall statue along Washington Avenue, known as Vanna Whitewall, is that rarest of creatures. Only a few of these 1960s era commercial "spectaculars" still exist, and almost all have been conservatively attired. The Peoria girl, here since 1968, went from bikini to modesty mini-skirt and then back to bikini, with no troubles from many years. Like the reverse of a roadside forest fire thermometer, a Uniroyal Gal clad in a bright red bikini apparently meant "no heat" from the community.

A Crippling Blow

On the afternoon of July 29, 2005, an elderly woman who disobeyed a traffic signal was struck by another car and her car careened into the base of the Uniroyal Gal, breaking her toes and right ankle and damaging her high-heeled left foot.

The owners, who had the foresight to protect the statue with a $25,000 insurance policy, had it taken down for repairs. She returned in 2006, at first wearing a more conservative skirt and blouse. Then it was bikini time again!