Monroe, Ohio: Touchdown Jesus (Gone)

Touchdown Jesus was struck by lightning and burned down! My husband and I drove by on Mother's day weekend and I was happy to get a picture from the car window. Little did I know, it would be the last one I would ever take.

The famous "Touchdown Jesus" statue along Interstate 75 in Monroe, OH is no more. It took a lightning strike in a storm last night and burned. Although I am sure the church will repair/rebuild it, a southwest Ohio tradition has passed.

In your story about "Butter Jesus" you mention that it is common to see heathens on the side of the road "high-5ing Jesus." Well now that there is another heathenistic act commonly witnessed from I-75. People are posing in the common O-H-I-O pose, which is well-known here in Buckeye country, where Jesus is the H.

And to these people I say "Go Bucks!"

Giant Jesus statue (Touchdown Jesus) outside a church in Monroe, OH (north of Cincinnati, OH. Take I-75 North and its a little past Traders World on the right hand side.

We pass by the Solid Rock Church and the Giant Jesus fairly frequently. A few trips ago we spotted a smaller, less noticeable feature on the property. Hidden at the edge of the woods there appears to be a mock-up of an old west town, fallen into disuse. The creepiest thing about it is that there seems to be a guard tower. It's got the oogy compound vibes about it, and when we drove into the parking lot for a closer look, a crew that had been planting on the bank near Jesus began to approach our car. I've yet to find out what that weird little building is or why it has a guard tower.