Skip to Main Content

Mama Burger, Papa Burger, Teen Burger, Baby Burger. The adult's root beer mugs are three feet tall.
Mama Burger, Papa Burger, Teen Burger, Baby Burger. The adults' root beer mugs are three feet tall.

Civic Pride Burger Family

Field review by the editors.

Hillsboro, Oregon

When A&W Root Beer began erecting fiberglass Burger Family statues in 1963 -- Papa Burger, Mama Burger, Teen Burger, and Baby Burger -- it was just a promotion for its new four-size hamburger menu.

Dad and teen son Burger.

The company couldn't have imagined that, twenty years later, the Burger Family of Hillsboro, Oregon, would be designated a "Cultural Resource" by the town's Planning Commission, and that ten years after that the Family would be restored (by the Hilhi Art Club) and given a special landscaped place of honor in front of the town's recreation center (by the Tualatin Valley Garden Club), as well as their own bronze information plaque, just as if they were real works of public art.

The plaque notes that Teen Burger was adopted into the Family in 1996 from another A&W, after the original Hillsboro Teen went missing (We'd received a tip then that he'd been stolen by local high school punks and dumped in a local lake).

Smiling at the competition: Golden Arch visible next to Papa's left ear.
Smiling at the competition: Golden Arch visible next to Papa's left ear.

Close inspection of the statues shows that they are now firmly bolted to the ground. They've also stood longer in Hillsboro as Cultural Resources than they did selling hamburgers.

There was only one flaw in the Family's ennoblement: though they smiled bravely, they were cruelly positioned to stare directly at a pair of Golden Arches of a McDonald's across the street! And then the McDonald's was shuttered, leaving only part of the Arches to mark its passing. We wonder if perhaps the unblinking eyes of the Burger Family forced the competition to flee.

Civic Pride Burger Family

Address:
SE 10h Ave., Hillsboro, OR
Directions:
On the west side of SE 10th Ave. between Maple and Cedar Sts. Park on Cedar St.
Admission:
Free
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Harvey The Giant RabbitHarvey The Giant Rabbit, Aloha, OR - 4 mi.
World's Tallest Barber Shop PoleWorld's Tallest Barber Shop Pole, Forest Grove, OR - 7 mi.
10-Foot-Tall Gnome10-Foot-Tall Gnome, Portland, OR - 9 mi.
In the region:
Salmon Swimming Through Building, Portland, OR - 14 mi.

More Quirky Attractions in Oregon

Stories, reports and tips on tourist attractions and odd sights in Oregon.

Explore Thousands of Unique Roadside Landmarks!

Strange and amusing destinations in the US and Canada are our specialty. Start here.
Use RoadsideAmerica.com's Attraction Maps to plan your next road trip.

My Sights

My Sights on Roadside America

Save Cool Vacation Destinations! ...Try My Sights

Mobile Apps

Roadside America app: iPhone, iPad Roadside America app for iPhone, iPad. On-route maps, 1,000s of photos, special research targets! ...More

Roadside Presidents app: iPhone, iPad Roadside Presidents app for iPhone, iPad. POTUS landmarks, oddities. ...More

Oregon Latest Tips and Stories

Latest Visitor Tips

Sight of the Week

Sight of the Week

Abe Lincoln Meets Perry Como, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (Mar 27-Apr 2, 2023)

SotW Archive

USA and Canada Tips and Stories

More Sightings

Favorite Quirky City Sights