Bartlett, Illinois: Muffler Man (Gone)

This Muffler Man is now in Atlanta, Illinois, at the American Giants Museum. He is currently in repose, but it is planned to have him rehabilitated and upright on one of the platforms outside the museum building, a replica Texaco Station. There are several other statues at the museum, including a newly redone Texaco Big Friend. Very much worth the trip.

My fiance who has a sister who lives in Bartlett Illinois found out where the Muffler man is now! He is being stored in a very large storage barn. He is still in disrepair and the owners are not doing anything with it right now.

The muffler man is definitely gone. The property he stood at the front of has been rehabbed and now a shed company and trailer dealer occupy the space. Our hopes that he was being refurbished were for naught.

This Muffler Man is for some reason unloved. His paint is chipping and his hand is missing. There used to be way more Muffler men in my area. Going east on 20 from the forlorn, one-handed muffler man and into the town of Roselle were two Muffler Men standing in front of what is today Santilli's fruit stand. If I remember correctly, one was an Injun and one was a white guy. It was a rite of passage at Lake Park High School to vandalize and thus disrespect the Muffler Man, painting their fingernails black and such like tom-foolery. Eventually, they were taken down. I think it was in the late seventies or early eighties. I miss them very much. If I could somehow procure my own Muffler Man, believe me, I would.

Bartlett in Hanover Park, near the police station. This muffler man is an amputee, however. He is missing his right hand. You can buy lawn furniture in the barn that he stands in front of.