Marietta, Georgia: The Big Chicken

With a moving beak and eyes, it's a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. Souvenirs available.

There's a sneaky little Colonel design on the back!

Looks like the chicken has had another makeover. He now features a portrait of the Colonial, but no Pepsi logo. The eyes still move and the mouth opens and closes. He also has his own radio station (820 AM). It's kitschy and corny but also a lot of fun.

We were not prepared for the sheer enormity of the sign. No wonder the Big Chicken has been used as a directional landmark for decades! KFC is back as caretakers of The Chicken, dwarfing would-be competitors Church's and Chick Fil A nearby.

Growing up in Marietta/Cobb County, the locals always described directions in colloquial terms. My favorite was "Take Roswell Road to the Big Chicken' and turn Left on the 'Four Lane'." Translation: Find the KFC Chicken on the Northeast Corner of US-41. Later, the highway was named the "Cobb Parkway," but anyone who lived in Cobb County referred to it as either "Forty-one" or the "Four Lane Highway." Prior to the completion of I-75 in the mid 1970s, traffic exited onto "Forty-one" just north of the Big Chicken and proceeded north past Cartersville, GA.

I recall KFC selling a lot of chicken to both travelers and locals when the traffic was a lot heavier.