Farmington, Missouri: Giant Animal Cluster (Gone)

Gone. New parking lot paved and one faded pink elephant on rollers ready to move.

This location of Blackwell Motors has closed. All of the vehicle inventory is gone, but the giant animals remain! The elephant on the pole, the Patriotic Elephant, the bespectacled Pink Elephant, the Mexican Bull, and the very menacing rifle-toting gorilla.

Salesman was very friendly, told me the history of the rooster car.

A collection of huge fiberglass animals at Blackwell Motors in Park Hills were recently moved to a newer Blackwell Motors location in Farmington. The statues included three elephants -- one pink, one gray, and one American flag decorated -- a gorilla, and a cow. The pink elephant will be installed on a 30 ft. tall pole.

Owner Kevin Blackwell has been ordering the statues from a Kentucky manufacturer since 1995 to promote his business. The move was required to make way for a new road planned by the Missouri Department of Transportation. [Thanks to B. Warner for the tip]

I'm sure lots of your readers have seen the large pink elephants which stand along the side of Highway 67 in St. Francois County, Missouri. In late August, one of them suffered what we're hoping was not irreparable injuries in an auto accident, breaking two legs. This particular elephant has had a hard go of it. He was also blown over by heavy winds a year or so ago.