| Big Critters |
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| OTHER MAMMALS (page 1) | |||||
| Queen Connie Brandon, VT |
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| Queen Connie is a 19' tall, 16 ton gorilla. She holds aloft a VW Beetle at Pioneer Auto Sales, a used car dealer. The statue was built in 1985 by T.J. Neil. The name "Queen Connie of Concrete" came from some school children in a naming contest. For more, see 1, 2, and 3. |
| Mighty Joe Shamong, NJ |
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| Mighty Joe was previously in Wildwood, NJ. Originally, he was on the Boadwalk and known as Kongo Pongo and Magilla. Later, he was moved to the Island Family Fun Park in Wildwood where he was known as George the Gorilla. Today, the sign covers the two holes in his chest that had slides projecting from them. He was installed here at Mighty Joe's Gas Grill & Deli as a tribute to the owner's son who died of cancer. For more, see this website. |
| Gorilla Virginia Beach, VA |
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| The Virginia Beach Gorilla, aka Hugh Mongous, stands in front of the Ocean Breeze Water Park. He is about 55' tall and wears a Hawaiian shirt, shorts and sunglasses. The original sculpture was about 65' tall and installed here in 1985. It was created in 1978 for a Richmond bank promotion. Afterwards, it was trucked to Virginia Beach to Jungle Falls (later Wild Water Rapids and now Ocean Breeze). The statue was destroyed by fire in 1989 and replaced with this one. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Giant Gopher St. Paul, MN |
Giant Beaver Lee, MA |
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The St. Paul Gopher greets visitors to the Minnesota State Fair. The mascot's name is Fairchild and this concrete statue of him was created in 1966. He holds a pair of tickets in his right hand. Another gopher statue, Fairborne (Fairchild's newphew), was added in 1983. Does anyone have a photo of him?
The Lee Beaver stands in front of Beaver Self Storage. He appears to be made of cement over steel mesh. |
| Giant Beaver Portland, OR |
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| The Portland Beaver is a fiberglass statue created by Hamm's Bear. The beaver was depicted chopping down trees in Hamm's TV commercials. This one was used at a bar and is probably from the mid-1970s. Somewhere along the line, he was repainted to look like a skunk. He is now in a private collector's hands and will be restored to his original colors. For more, see this website. [photos thanks Vintage Roadside] |
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More Giant Beavers
Whitehorse, AK Beaver, OK |
| Harbie the Seal Bisbee, AZ |
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| Harbie the Seal was the mascot of Harbor Gasoline, a chain of gas stations in Los Angeles and Orange County. This statue is now installed at Shady Dell. I don't know what happened to his back. The other Harbies that I have seen aren't slotted like this. |
| Harbie the Seals Garden Grove, CA |
Harbie the Seal Los Angeles, CA |
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There are two Harbie the Sealsin Garden Grove at the entrance to CC Camperland-RV Park.
The Los Angeles Harbie the Seal stands outside of Sonny Alexander's Flowers. For more, see their website. |
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