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Magic Forest
Lake George, NY
Staff Guy
 Caveman
 Indian
Rip Van Winkle
 Hansel & Gretel
 Astronauts
 Archer
Big Santa
 Small Santa
 Uncle Sam
In addition to these, Magic Forest has many other giants (Muffler Men) described here. The Staff Guy looks an awful lot like a Texaco Big Friend. The Big Santa is from the same mold as those shown at this page. It was part of the original park which opened in 1963 and was known as Christmas City, USA. The name was changed to Magic Forest in 1965. The Small Santa is from the same mold as the one at Santa's Workshop (Cascade, CO). The Caveman and Astronauts statues came from Time Town, an amusement park in Bolton Landing, NY which operated from 1970-1981. An identical Caveman statue is located in Grants Pass, OR.

This Uncle Sam statue was bought from the Danbury Fair in 1981 and placed here in 1982. The statue is made from fiberglass and is about 38 feet tall. It was repainted in 1992. It appears to be a twin to the Uncle Sam in Ottawa Lake, MI. For more, see this website.

Magic Forest also has Giant Roosters, Giant Reindeer, a Pig Chef, two Teen Burgers and a Baby Burger, and various fairy tale figures.

The owner of Magic Forest, Arthur Gillette, got many of these fiberglass figures from a junkyard in Knoxville, TN. He went there twice a year to bring them back and restore them. Other figures came from the Danbury Fair, the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, and Fantasyland Park in Gettysburg, PA. The park's collection grew to over 1,000 statues.

Davey Crockett
Broadalbin, NY
 Michelin Man and
Bubbles the Dog
Greenbush, NY
 Knight
Popek's Books
Oneonta, NY
 Gnome Chomsky
Kerhonkson, NY
Davey Crockett was originally located at Frontier Town, a 1950s Wild West theme park in North Hudston, NY. The park closed in 1998. This statue now stands at the entrance of Adirondack Animal Land. For more, see this website.

This statue of the Michelin Man and Bubbles the Dog is a wood-carving that is installed in front of Grand Premier Tire & Wheel.

The Oneonta Knight is about 12 feet tall. He looks like he's been here for many years. These knights were mass-produced and appear all over the country.

Gnome Chomsky is over 13 feet tall and is acknowledged by Guinness World's Records as the world's largest garden gnome. He was built in 2003 as part of a mini golf course in New York City. The statue is now at Gnome on the Grange, a farm-theme mini golf course at Kelder's Farm. In order to qualify for the Guinness record, the gnome was recreated out of cement. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

Leather Guy
Mayfield, NY
The Leather Guy was built by Rod Shutt in 1971. The 24 foot tall statue represented Steve Alvord, the owner of Alvord's House of Leather. The top two photos are from around 2001 and show the statue in front of the renamed store, the Adirondack Leather Shop. In 2006, the statue was moved into storage. In 2010, the statue reappeared, completely restored, at the entrance to town. He advertises for a log homes manufacturer. The statue now holds his glasses in his right hand. For more, see this website. For more statues created by Shutt, see this page.

Landmark Motor Inn
Fort Edward, NY
The Landmark Motor Inn has several horse racing related statues. They appear to have been created by the same artist.

Musketeers
Westhampton, NY
These Musketeers stand in front of the Casa Basso Restaurant. The statues and the castle were created by Theophilus Brower in the late 1800s. The Musketeers are about 12 feet tall and made of concrete. The restaurant building was originally used as Brower's workshop. It was converted into a restaurant in 1928 and is still in operation today. The castle building was originally used to display Brower's art. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Egyptian Guardian
Brooklyn, NY		 Fisherman
Brooklyn, NY		 Sphinx
Bayport, NY		 Winnie the Witch
St. James, NY
This Fisherman is located at Jordan's Lobster Dock. Jordan's was established in Manhattan in 1938. This location opened in the mid-1980s. This statue has been here since at least 2007.

This four foot tall Egyptian Guardian statue has been in front of the Mr. Falafel restaurant since at least 1990. The statue was modeled after the pair of statues that guarded King Tut's tomb. For more, see this website.

This 10 foot tall Sphinx was originally installed around 1911 in front of the Anchorage Inn in Blue Point, NY. The Inn was destroyed by fire in 1928 and the Sphinx deteriorated over the years. It was moved here to the Fontana Cement Co. in 1974. It was then restored in 1981. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Winnie the Witch stands behind Wick's Farm & Garden. She is 30' tall and has been here since 1976. There were at least three previously versions of her. She was built from wood, scrap metal, and weather-resistant canvas. There was once a fence around Winnie with some funny graves and a small pond to throw coins in to make wishes.

Vidler on the Roof
East Aurora, NY
The Vidler on the Roof statue was installed on the roof of Vidler's in 2010. The 10 foot tall statue represens Edward W. Vidler, the store's 81 year old President. Rather than fiberglass, this statue was made from Magic-Sculpt, a two-part epoxy clay-like substance mixed with hardener and resin. Vidler's opened in 1930 as The Fair Store. In 1945, the store was renamed Vidler's 5 & 10. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Giant Men
Bethel, NY
2005:
2010:
The Bethel Men were installed here around 2003. I usually don't include wooden statues at my website but these were pretty special. The heroic figures included two prisoners of war and a September 11 memorial with three firefighters, a vintage firetruck, and a policeman. By 2008, these statues were beginning to deteriorate and the firetruck was gone. By 2010 (bottom photos), most of the statues had been damaged or destroyed by fire and vandalism. Does anyone know anything more about the artist and these statues?

NY
Muffler Men		 Giants
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