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Wisconsin Giants

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Gambrinus
City Brewery
La Crosse, WI
 Gambrinus
Heileman Headquarters
La Crosse, WI
Gambrinus is 15 feet tall and stands next to the City Brewery (preveiously Heileman's Brewery). Heileman bought this concrete statue from a defunct brewery and installed him here in 1939. Gambrinus is the patron saint of beer. His real name was Jan Primus - a 13th Century knight from Brussels that invented hopped malt beer. Many European breweries feature statues of him. Across the street from this statue is a Giant Six-Pack of Beer.

The other La Crosse Gambrinus statue was created by Elmer Peterson in 1980. The cor-ten steel statue was installed in front of Heileman's corporate headquarters. I don't know if the Heileman Brewing Company is still here in some form as the building's main tenant now seems to be Business Objects.

More Gambrinus Statues:
Woodridge, IL
New Orleans, LA
Baltimore, MD
Columbus, OH

Spartan Warrior
Sparta, WI
 Ben Biken
Sparta, WI
The Spartan Warrior and Ben Biken were both created and donated by the FAST Corporation which is the local and world famous producer of fiberglass statues. The Spartan Warrior is 14 feet tall and was installed on the roof of Sparta High School in 1984. [second and third photos thanks Mark Comstock]

The Ben Biken statue is 30 feet tall, making him the world's largest bicyclist. He was built by FAST in 1997 and installed in the middle of town. Sparta is known as the Bicycling Capital of the World. [third photo thanks Mark Comstock]

Pioneer
Westfield, WI		 Norseman
Westby, WI		 Donut Chef
Eau Claire, WI
The Pioneer stands outside the Pioneer Restaurant. He was also made by the FAST Corporation and is complemented by two Giant Oxen nearby.

The Norseman was carved from a tree that was damaged in a storm. He holds a Norwegian flag. Westby is quite proud of its Scandinavian heritage. For more, see this website.

The Donut Chef stands in a corner at the Quick Lube. He was originally at a donut shop in Galesburg, IL which is now closed.

Hamburger Charlie
Seymour, WI		 Philip Morris Bellhop [gone]
Fennimore, WI
This 12 foot tall statue of Hamburger Charlie was built to honor Charlie Nagreen who invented the hamburger here in 1885. At the age of 15, Charlie was selling meatball sandwiches at the Seymour Fair. To make the meatballs more transportable, he flattened them and put them between two slices of bread. Seymour is also famous for creating the World's Largest Hamburger in 1999. For a fiberglass replica of it, see this page. For more, see this website.

This Philip Morris Bellhop statue was strapped to sign pole in front of the Three B's (Beer Bait & Bargains) store when this photo was taken in 2007. By 2011, the bellhop was gone. These statues were mass-produced but are very rare now. The statue's mechanical, motorized arm would have moved up and down originally.

Cheese and Sausage Man
Portage, WI
This Cheese and Sausage Man is apparently meant to represent a farmer. The statue is located at a BP gas station. He may have held a beer in his right hand instead of the sausage. I don't know of any statues like this. However, he looks similar to the Pizza Chef statues and was probably designed by the same company.

Green Bay Packer Receiver
Green Bay, WI		 Big Gust
Grantsburg, WI
The fiberglass Green Bay Packer Receiver is 22 feet tall and stands in front of the Titletown Brewery. The number 88 on his jersey represents an anonymous player. He used to stand in front of the Hall of Fame but has been moved around town a couple times since then. For more, see this website.

This life-sized wood carving of Anders Anderson, known to townsfolk as Big Gust, is protected by a glass booth. The statue was created by Alf Olson in 1980. Big Gust was over seven feet tall and a local, legendary figure in the early 1900s. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Plumber
Janesville, WI
 Golfer
Mequon, WI
This Plumber sculpture is located on the roof of Lyons Mechanical Contractors.

This Golfer statue has been here since the 1980s. It came from someplace unknown before that. It stands in front of the Nichol Park Golf Range.

Koepsel's Farm Market
Baileys Harbor, WI
Koepsel's Farm Market opened in 1958. These wood chainsaw carved statues stand in front of the store. They represent the store's owners. The statues were produced in 2008 by Jeff Prust. Just a month after these photos were taken in 2011, the statues were destroyed in a storm. Replacements will be made by Prust. For more, see this website.

Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine
Necedah, WI
The Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine features fourteen religious and patriotic grottos. In 1949, Mary Ann Van Hoof had a vision of the Virgin Mary. When people began making pilgramages to the site, the first shrine was built. Most of the dioramas with life-sized figures were built in the 1960s and early 1970s. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

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