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email: agilitynut@hotmail.com |
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| Giant Food: Oranges |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| The Orange Inn [gone] somewhere, Route 66 |
Giant Oranges Sparta, WI |
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The Orange Inn was a giant orange-shaped roadside stand from the 1920s. This one probably offered fresh-squeezed orange juice to passing motorists. Oversized fruits and other objects were a common roadside phenomenon in the 1920s and 1930s.
These Sparta Oranges are ready for shipping at FAST which manufactures fiberglass statues. |
| Mammoth Orange Fairmead, CA [now Chowchilla, CA] |
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This Mammoth Orange was built around 1952 and installed in Chowchilla, CA. The 10 foot tall giant orange is made of aluminum, wood and stucco. It has always been open in the back. The Orange was moved to Fairmead, CA in 1954. It was one of several giant orange snack bars along Route 99, with the first one built in Tracy, CA in the 1920s. The same owners had another giant orange nearby, also in Fairmead, known as Fast Eddies. That stand was less profitable and it was demolished in the mid-1990s.
In 2008, this stand closed when highway expansion construction made getting to it virtually impossible. Shortly after the above photos were taken, the City of Chowchilla bought the structure and planned to restore it and install it downtown near its original location. However, those plans fell through and the orange remained in storage. In 2012, it was sold to the San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation which plans to display the orange at the Fossil Discovery Center. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Mammoth Orange Redfield, AR |
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| The Mammoth Orange, aka the Orange Cafe, was built in 1965 with additions to the side coming later. It was inspired by the Mammoth Orange in Fairmead, CA (described above). The owner, Earnestine Bradshaw, used to work at that stand. The Redfield stand features burgers, other fast food, and ice cream. They used to sell fresh-squeezed orange juice but it got too expensive. In 2003, top row of photos, the Orange needed a lot of TLC. From 2004-2005 (bottom row of photos), the roof was repaired and it was repainted. For more, see this website. |
| Bono's Historic Orange Fontana, CA |
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| Bono's Historic Orange was built in 1936 as an orange juice stand about three miles from is present location. In the mid-1990s, the stand was falling apart and nearly demolished. It was donated to the Historical Society and moved to the Wal-Mart parking lot. Around 1999, it was moved again - to Bono's Restaurant and Deli. The orange has not been used for anything, however, it has been well-maintained. In 2010, there was talk of using it once again as an orange juice stand. For more, see this website. |
| Joe's Giant Orange Cafe Shasta Lake, CA |
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| The giant orange at Joe's Giant Orange Cafe was built in 1946 and was previously located on US99 near Redding, CA. The orange is an eye-catching tourist attraction while food is served from the attached building. For more, see this website. |
| orange stand Williams, CA |
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| This abandoned orange stand is located on old Route 99. |
| Mark's Hot Dogs San Jose, CA |
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| Mark's Hot Dogs opened in 1936. Mark's moved to a different spot in San Jose in 1947. It is not clear whether this 15 foot tall concrete orange shaped stand was built in 1936 or 1947. Mark's orange moved again in 2003 to its present location. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Giant Orange Melbourne, FL |
Giant Orange Mount Dora, FL |
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The Melbourne Orange was built in 1967, made of concrete and steel, and is 15 feet in diameter. It was used for a few years as an orange juice stand for tourists, manned by the Eau Gallie Chamber of Commerce.
I believe there was once another Giant Orange in Melbourne that served as a fruit stand. It was built in 1933 and was 14 feet in diameter. There is the possibility that this might be the same as the existing giant orange. If so, I'm not sure which information is correct. The Mount Dora Orange was built in 1973. It is 14 feet in diameter and made of concrete. The Orange was originally used a fruit stand but has been vacant since 1984. It stands pretty far back from the road next to McNamara's Antiques. This photo is from 2009. I'm told that this Orange has been moved to Umatilla, FL. Does anyone know if this happened, where it's been relocated, and if it will be restored? |
| Eli's Orange World Kissimmee, FL |
juice stand [gone] Miami, FL |
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Eli's Orange World is the world's largest orange. The fiberglass-domed building was constructed in 1973 and is 92 feet wide and 60 feet tall. It has a huge selection of fruit and souvenirs. Orange World appeared in the 1996 movie "Marvin's Room". The main characters are driving and make a turn to the beach just behind Orange World. In reality, Kissimmee is nowhere near the ocean. Until the mid-1980s, there were orange groves behind Orange World. Property values have since skyrocketed due to not-so-faraway Disney World and Universal Studios. For more, see their website.
The Miami juice stand was located in front of the Vagabond Market which was formerly the Vagabond Motel. The orange appeared to be a modern construction. This photo is from 2009. By 2012, the orange was gone. |
| Orange Ring Haines City, FL |
Giant Orange Starke, FL |
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The Orange Ring is a huge fruit and souvenir stand. I suspect the building is from the 1950s/1960s. I don't know if it ever had an orange dome roof like Eli's Orange World (above). This area has seen its share of hurricanes so it's possible, if it had one, it blew off. The Orange Ring has another location in Fort Pierce, FL but I don't think the building is shaped like this one. For more, see their website.
The Starke Orange is a converted giant golf ball. It has been in front of Kings Kountry Produce since around 2007. |
| Restaurant Chez Dan Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC |
Gibeau Orange Julep Montréal, QC |
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Restaurant Chez Dan might have been inspired by Montreal's Orange Julep stand. I'd love to know the history of this place.
The Gibeau Orange Julep, also known as the Big Orange, was built by Hermas Gibeau in 1942. That building looked like this in the 1950s. The structure was rebuilt in the mid-1960s when the road was widened. This larger, fiberglass orange is 40 feet in diameter. The Orange Julep drink is similar to that produced by Orange Julius. Both companies developed their foamy orange drinks in the 1920s. It is not clear which came first. Another company in the U.S. preceded them both: Howel's Orange Julep was developed in 1912. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. |
| Orange Julep [gone] Montréal, QC |
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This is the original Gibeau Orange Julep location. It opened around 1932. This restaurant closed in 2010 and the signs have been removed. For more, see this website.
There was a third Orange Julep location in Laval, QC which had an orange shape. A restaurant has been built over it but part of the orange, now painted white, is visible. A fourth orange-shaped location in Sainte-Catherine, QC was demolished in 2007. |
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More Giant Oranges:
George's Orange (Dixon, CA) Big Orange: 1, 2 (Lemon Cove, CA) various orange stands: 1, 2 [various cities, CA] various orange stands in the U.S. Orange Bar (Croatia) |
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