Bangor, Maine: 31-Foot-Tall Paul Bunyan

The mighty woodsman from... Bangor, Maine? Bangor's Bunyan statue stands head and shoulders above most others.

Paul now stands in front of the Cross Insurance Center and across the street from the new Hollywood Casino. He is in same location as he has always been but the neighborhood has changed drastically. The city tore down the old civic center and built the Cross Center next to Paul who now looks out onto the casino and its parking garage, not the river. Now with a more urban feel, it is still a magnificent statue in a great easy to find location.

You'll have to view this from afar right now. The area is under construction and there's no access directly to the statue. Part of Paul is visible above the construction fence though.

The statement that the statue in Bangor Maine is a converted muffler man is false. Bangor is the home of Paul Bunyon -- there is a birth certificate to prove it, the statue was made from scratch and refurbished a few years ago,and when the city wanted to dismantle him it raised quite an uproar. He does not even come close to the pose struck by your muffler men. In his left hand is a peavey (also invented by a Maine native), and in his right is a double-bitted axe which is over his shoulder in a typical lumberman's fashion.

He was erected in the early sixties as a tribute to the city's logging heritage, and was intended to be an expression of Civic Pride. However, he's a little too goofy looking for that, and is looked down upon by the elitist types in the city. The People, however, love and respect him, and fought to spare him the indignity of being forced to wear a Don Imus t-shirt during a recent visit by that irritating radio personality. All Hail The Bunyan!! Long May He Smirk!