Big John, 2012.

Big John Statue

Cape Coral, Florida

Type: Big John (28 ft. tall)

Arm position: Standard

Accessories: Two grocery bags

Big John started as the goliath grocery clerk mascot of Cape Coral's Big John store, cast from molds made by General Sign Co. in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Patti Hollingsworth wrote to us in 2005: "My then husband, Craig, and his dad, John Hollinsworth, bought the existing grocery store in Cape Coral, Florida, in May 1969, named it Big John's, and commissioned the statue from John's grocery friend in Illinois in trade for a semi full of watermelons."

The 28-foot-tall fiberglass figure was shipped in two pieces on a flatbed truck to Florida in 1969 -- his head was knocked off by a highway overpass. Big John was repaired, and stood at his grocery store post until the store closed in 1986.

Though the statue remained, at some point his grocery bags were removed, and Big John was occasionally dressed up in holiday-appropriate garb. He weathered several tropical storms and hurricanes, his steel understructure rated to resist 110 mph winds.

These days, Big John is the landmark mascot of the Cape Coral Town Center. In 2011, he was the beneficiary of a complete makeover, donning an American flag shirt, acid-washed jeans, sneakers, and holding two grocery bags labeled with sponsors' logos.

Another hurricane, Ian, the strongest yet, battered Big John with 150 mph winds in September 2022. The winds caught Big John's grocery bags and twisted his torso, ripping his belly open. Lacking support, his upper body slid down an interior pole several feet, coming to rest on his hips, with the pole sticking out of the top of his head. But Big John held on to his bags and remained standing, unlike many nearby buildings. Although he was rechristened "Little John," his owner vowed to fully repair him and make him Big again.