| Land of the Giants |
| PENNSYLVANIA: MISC. GIANTS |
| Amos Hershey Farm Restaurant and Inn Lancaster, PA |
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Amos, a 15' tall fiberglass and steel Amish farmer, was built in 1969 by Rodman Shutt. He stood in front of Zinn's Diner until 2003 (top row of photos). Amos was named after the family babysitter's father and made to look like the diner's owner. This statue was created in celebration of Zinn's expansion, replacing the previous Amos statue that was from 1960. The soundbox from this original Amos was kept, permitting him to tell bad Amish jokes in a thick Pennsylvania Dutch accent.
In 2003, Zinn's was sold and became the Lyndon Diner III. Amos was donated to the Heritage Center of Lancaster County. Much too big to be put on display at their museum, he is on a five-year loan to Hershey Farm. He has been spruced up (second row of photos above) with a new purple shirt. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. Rod Shutt created many other giants, including the Boothbay Harbor Fisherman, the Leather Guy, the Amish Couple, Freeze & Frizz (all shown below), as well as the Charlemont and Freeport Indians, figures for Dutch Wonderland, and the York Barbell Man. Shutt also produced a number of Santas. He began building these figures in 1960 in Strasburg, PA. He used fiberglass and selastic and built each figure individually. His pieces were sold and shipped nationwide. He retired and moved to West Virginia around the mid-1970s. There, he dabbled in wood-carving and sold hand-made cars and baskets at arts and crafts shows. |
| Amish Couple Roadside America Shartlesville, PA |
Giant Farmer with Pigs Freeze & Frizz Ronks, PA |
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The Amish Couple was built by Rod Shutt (see above) soon after the 1955 opening of Roadside America's Gift Haus. For more on the adjacent Roadside America, see this page.
The Freeze & Frizz statue is another Rod Shutt creation from about 1976. The restaurant, specializing in BBQ and ice cream, opened in 1973. The farmer is nicknamed "Huckleberry." |
| Amish Man and Woman Lancaster, PA |
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| The Amish Man and Woman stand across the street from the Lancaster Visitors Center. They appear to be Rod Shutt statues. In 2009, they were removed for restoration and should be reinstalled soon near the same spot. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| York Barbell ManYork, PA | Pied Piper Schellsburg, PA |
Pirate Breinigsville, PA |
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The York Barbell Man sign is a real eye-catcher on I-83. The platform revolves for a 360 degree view of the muscleman. He is 7 1/2 feet tall and was built to look like the company's founder, Bob Hoffman. York Barbell has been around since 1932. This figure was created in the 1960s/1970s by Rod Shutt who built Amos and many other roadside giants. For more, see their website.
The 18' tall Pied Piper greeted visitors at the entrance to Storyland, a former amusement park for children. He has recently been repainted and a gift shop (Piper's Place Country Originals) has gone up behind him. For more about Storyland and similar parks, see these pages: 1, 2, and 3. This Pirate stands in front of Terry Hill Waterpark. Until recently, he was installed inside the park near the Pirate Slides. The 43-acre park opened in the late 1960s. It closed a few years ago but there are plans to reopen in 2010. The park has a variety of rides and some other fiberglass figures (rearing horse, rooster, and rooster). For more, see this website. |
| Abraham Lincoln & a TouristGettysburg, PA | |||
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| 3. |
| Pep Boys Philadelphia, PA |
Soldier Upper Darby, PA |
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This Pep Boys statue is installed on the roof of one of their stores. There are very few of these statues left which I believe are from the 1960s. Some other examples are located in Maryland and Whitehall, PA.
This Soldier statue is installed above the entrance of Callahan's Tavern. He seems to be life-sized. There is an identical statue in Blackwood, NJ. |
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PA Giants Elsewhere in this Section:
Pie Woman (Frackville) |
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PA Muffler Men |
Giants Main Page |
| Big JimBentleyville, PA | ||||
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| Big Jim is a 20' tall steel statue of a cowboy. He was created in 1978 by James Krutz who installed him in front of his welding shop in Charleroi, PA. In 2007, the building's new owners wanted him removed. The artist's family decided to donate him to Charleroi. Ultimately, he was moved to nearby Bentleyville where he is on display in front of the Best Western hotel. For more, see these websites: 1, 2 |