Chehalis, Washington: Yard Bird Statues

Much has been said over the years about the Yardbird located in the parking lot at 2100 N National Ave in Chehalis, Wa. But little do people realize the number of lives this ICON has affected. We had a Yardbirds reunion two years ago and had a thousand people here being interviewed with funny stories and the greeting of old friends that had not been seen for years. The bird you see has been through various floods and still sits proud in front of the Yardbirds Mall. Now a movie has been released, to be shown locally on 6/17/2009 and then shown in the Yardbirds Mall on a regular basis.

Yardbirds was Walmart before there ever was a Walmart. Now it houses a Tattoo Parlor, Second Hand Store, 12 Step Club, drug counseling center, Chehalis High School, a theater that shows Spanish and English movies, a computer repair shop, an antique and variety Store, a specialty shoe store for diabetics, a huge grocery Store, and more.

The Yard Birds were originally drawn by Bing Orr, a graduate of Anda High School (1959), who was hired to draw the large cartoon-like advertising that was common at the time. He might have created the logo of two crow-like figures. In any case, as the years went by, each Yard Bird sculpture seemed to get bigger and bigger, until the colossus-scale standing Yard Bird of the late 1960s, which was easily forty feet high. I imagine Bing [may have] had a hand in building all these sculptures.

On August 5th, 2006, the giant Yard Bird in Chehalis will get a facelift! My friend is thoroughly obsessed with the store and everything it used to be, and decided that the bird needed a makeover. We've got permission, and a lot donated paint. It should be an all-day party centered around painting the Yard Bird.

Make a special trip...plan your whole summer around it!

I lived in Chehalis for 40 years. The store mentioned was not the original store. The original store is just down the street and now called "Sunbird" (they no longer use the birds). It was a military surplus store which expanded into a quasi-dept. discount store, until bought out, the birds moved to their current location with the main -- big birds gone who knows where.

The large one in your picture was originally an airplane hangar for the owner.

The Yardbirds which were presumed gone by a previous tip are in fact alive and well. The new owners have attracted a number of businesses and have renovated the building. They also hold a weekend swapmeet there which can be incentive to stop in and visit.