Easter Island Tiki Photo-Op

Montauk, New York

This exotic mashup was built in 1961 by Irv and Flo Stuart to stand outside their Ronjo Motel. Both the motel and the statue were named Ronjo, itself a mashup of the names of the owners' two children, Ron and Joanne. A combination Easter Island head and tiki, the statue also has two large clawed feet, like a Sphinx, and an open mouth suitable for possible interior flames and human sacrifice.

A succession of subsequent owners abandoned the Ronjo name and changed the motel into a hotel and now a "beach resort," but have wisely kept the statue. It was most striking when it was a solid copper color, although the property's current management favors painting Ronjo in wild hues and patterns, and then changing it drastically every couple of years.