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Pennsylvania Giants

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Amos
Hershey Farm Restaurant and Inn
Lancaster, PA
Amos, a 15 foot 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, York Barbell Man, Freeze & Frizz (all shown below), as well as the Charlemont and Freeport Indians, and figures for Dutch Wonderland. 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
This Amish Couple is installed next to Roadside America. The statues were built by Rod Shutt (see above) and installed here sometime between 1955 and 1963.

Giant Farmer with Pigs
Freeze & Frizz
Ronks, PA
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 [gone]
Lancaster, PA
The Amish Man and Woman stood across the street from the Lancaster Visitors Center. They appear to be Rod Shutt statues and stand about 10 feet tall. In 2009, they were removed for restoration and were to be reinstalled soon near the same spot. However, as of 2010, these statues are still missing and the Visitors Center knows nothing about plans to bring them back. Does anyone know if they are in storage or what happened to them? For more, see this website.

Amish Men
Kutztown, PA
These statues of Amish Men used to stand in front of Dempsey's restaurants. I believe there were two locations: one in Bethlehem and another Shillington. I don't know if these statues came from one location or both. The statues are now displayed during the Kutztown Folk Festival.

Pirate
Breinigsville, PA
 York Barbell Man
York, PA
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.

The York Barbell Man sign is located alongside I-83. The statue revolves on a platform. It 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 staue was created in the 1960s or 1970s by Rod Shutt who built Amos (top of this page) and many other roadside giants.

Abraham Lincoln & a Tourist
Gettysburg, PA
This statue of Abraham Lincoln & a Tourist is entitled "The Return Visit". The bronze sculpture was created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. in 1991 and is installed in the town's main square. Lincoln gestures towards the Wills House where he finished writing the Gettysburg Address.

Bride and Groom
Pittsburgh, PA
 Pep Boys
Philadelphia, PA
 Pep Boys
Philadelphia, PA
 Soldier
Upper Darby, PA
This Bride and Groom are installed on the roof of the Big Day One Stop Wedding & Event Center.

The first Pep Boys statue shown above is installed on the roof of one of the company's stores. There are very few of these statues left which were originally produced in the 1930s. I don't know when the company stopped making them but some were still being made in the 1960s I believe. Manny, the figure on the left, originally smoked a cigar. It was removed from this statue probably around 1990 when the company changed their logo and got rid of this detail. Some other examples of these statues are in California, Maryland, Whitehall, PA, and Stratford, NJ.

The second Pep Boys statue shown above stands in front of the company's headquarters. The cigar was removed from this statue as well.

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.

Pirate's Cove
Erie, PA
 Toy Soldiers
Broomall, PA
Pirate's Cove is a walk-through fun house at Waldameer Park. It was built by Bill Tracy in 1972. There is another Pirate's Cove just like this one at Trimpers Amusement Park in Ocean City, MD. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

This pair of Toy Soldiers is located at Nicholas Smith Trains. This store sells toys in addition to model trains.

Joe Magarac
Braddock, PA
This statue of Joe Magarac stands in front of the U.S. Steel mill. The mythic folk hero could make steel products with his bare hands. This 15 foot tall statue was previously displayed in West Mifflin, PA at Kennywood amusement park's train ride. He was created and installed there in 1993. Another source says the statue was built in the 1950s. Originally, the statue's skin was a natural flesh tone color and he had blonde hair. He wore blue jeans and a red shirt. The statue was nearly scrapped in 2009 before being saved by U.S. Steel. At that time, the statue was restored and a USS necklace was added. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

Play at Second
Philadelphia, PA
 Tackle
Philadelphia, PA
These Baseball and Football Players statues were built by Joe Brown. They were installed in 1976 at Veterans Stadium along with The Batter and The Punter statues. In 2005, the four statues were relocated to Citizens Bank Park. For more, see this website.

PA
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