Grateful Fred.

Grateful Fred

Grateful Fred, like the immortal rock musician he embodies, spent years on the road. Sculpted by Robert Pollack of Grand Ledge, Michigan, he first appeared in Tecumseh in 2013, then in Belleville in 2014, and then he arrived in Fenton in 2016. Pollack had titled the sculpture "Heavy Metal" -- not an endearing name -- but when the artwork reached Fenton it had become "Grateful Fred." The town, beguiled, bought it.

Fred is a rusty skeleton wearing a battered fedora and playing an electric guitar as he stands behind a microphone. The city describes it as "an object lesson for the excesses of the rock and roll lifestyle." Yet everyone seems to like Fred -- so much so that when his guitar strings broke, they were replaced by a local music shop owner, and when microphone pole started to rust, the town's Department of Public Works replaced it. Fred has also become an unexpectedly popular photo-op for wedding party photos.

Grateful Fred

Address:: 301 S. Leroy St., Fenton, MI
Directions:: South side of downtown. On the east side of S. Leroy St., at its intersection with Mill St., set back from the road in a little park on the north side of City Hall.
RA Rates:: Worth a Detour

Nearby Offbeat Places

Town-Naming Poker Game in Bronze, Fenton, MI - < 1 mi.

Sit-Down Men and Stand-Up Women, Flint, MI - 13 mi.

Weather Ball, Flint, MI - 15 mi.

In the region:

World's Largest Bronze Wildlife Sculpture - Cabela's, Dundee, MI - 57 mi.

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