Hercules figurehead from USS Ohio.

Figurehead of Hercules

Stony Brook, New York

In 1820 the U.S.S. Ohio became the first ship to be launched from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and its figurehead was a massive, full-color carving of the head and shoulders of Hercules, draped in the skin of a lion he'd killed with his mighty hands.

The ship was scrapped in 1884, but the figurehead was saved, passed from collector to collector over the years. Today it's sheltered in an open-air pavilion next to the water, along with the Ohio's anchor and a whaleboat, supposedly the only surviving relic from a doomed 1870 expedition to the Arctic.

Figurehead of Hercules

Address:: Main St., Stony Brook, NY
Directions:: South entrance to town. In a little open-air pavilion on the west (water) side of the intersection of Main St. and Shore Rd.
Hours:: Lit at night.
Admission:: Free
RA Rates:: Worth a Detour

Nearby Offbeat Places

Mechanical Flapping Eagle, Stony Brook, NY - < 1 mi.

Giant Witch, St. James, NY - 1 mi.

Kronos, Stony Brook, NY - 2 mi.

In the region:

Graffiti Hall of Fame, New York, NY - 43 mi.

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May 28, 2020