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Illinois Statues (page 2)

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Pizza Chef
Stockton, IL
Vince's Pizza
Rochelle, IL
The Pizza Chef in Stockton is installed in front of the Bottle Shed Bar & Liquor Store. The Bottle Shed is also a restaurant and sells pizza. This statue came from a pizzeria in Freeport, IL. It was moved here around 1996. In 2005, the statue had red and white striped pants and a white coat. This is the original head style for these pizza chef statues. For more, see this website. [map]

Vince's Pizza opened in 1967. The restaurant purchased its 11-foot-tall "Pizza Man" statue around 1971. According to the owner, a traveling salesman stopped by Vince's one day in a Wienermobile. The vehicle contained catalogs and numerous statues. The salesman may have been with Sculptured Advertising from Sparta, WI. Vince Cassola, the owner of Vince's Pizza, didn't care for the design of the chef statue in the catalog. He felt that the face looked more Mexican than Italian. So, the fiberglass company produced a new head with a rather frightening face. [map]

This modified head also appears on the chef statue at Tony's Pizza in Ocean City, MD. There was also another statue like this at the Goody Goody Diner in St. Louis, MO from 1975-1988. [St. Louis photo thanks Greg Rhomberg]

Other known pizza chef statues of this type with original heads are located in Essex, MD, Hendersonville, NC, Rutherfordton, NC (gone), Hartford, MI, Albert Lea, MN (gone), and Lebanon, TN. There is a somewhat similar Pizza Chef statue in St. Clairsville, OH.

Oz Park
Chicago, IL
Oz Park was created in the mid-1970s. It features statues of the characters from Lyman Frank Baum's book "The Wizard of Oz". The Tin Man statue was the first, installed in 1995. It was created by John Kearney who is famous for his car bumper sculptures. Kearney also produced the bronze Cowardly Lion in 2001, the Scarecrow in 2005, and the Dorothy and Toto in 2007. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Railsplitter Covered Wagon
Divernon, IL in 2005:
Lincoln, IL in 2009:
This Railsplitter Covered Wagon features a fiberglass statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting and reading a law book. The statue was made by a "Wisconsin man" for Dave Bentley who built the World's Largest Covered Wagon in 2001. The Covered Wagon is 24 feet tall and 40 feet long. The Railsplitter Covered Wagon was originally installed on Bentley's property in Divernon. The photos in the top row above are from 2005. In 2004, the statue and wagon were displayed at the state fair in Springfield. In 2007, Bentley sold the statue to the City of Lincoln, IL. It was restored at that point. The bottom photos above are from 2009. In 2014, strong winds nearly knocked the Covered Wagon over and damaged it. It has been repaired. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. [map]

Abraham Lincoln
Springfield, IL
Abraham Lincoln
Ashmore, IL
Abraham Lincoln
Kankakee, IL
This Abraham Lincoln in Springfield is 30 feet tall and stands at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The rarely depicted clean-shaven Abe was constructed here in 1968. His nicknames include the "Rail Splitter" and the "Axe Murderer". [map]

The Abraham Lincoln statue in Ashmore is 72 feet tall. The fiberglass and steel statue was built in 1969 by Bob Edzett. It was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, one of which took place in town. The statue was produced in St. Paul, MN and trucked here. The statue's body was made extremely slender to meet the oversized load restrictions. It was originally located southeast of town at Lincoln Memorial Park which is now gone. It was moved here to the Springhaven Campgrounds in 1979. After falling into disrepair, the statue was restored around 2005. These photos are from 2006. At that time, there were plans to incorporate the statue into a complex called "Abe's Garden" with educational and recreational activities. However, by 2009, the statue was put up for sale. In 2013, the statue was purchased and the property is being cleaned up. It is expected that the park will reopen at some point. For more, see this website. [map]

The Abraham Lincoln in Kankakee is 28 feet tall and stands on a 10-foot-tall base. The message on the sign he holds is changed from time to time. The statue is installed at Alexander Construction, facing I-57. It was built by FAST Fiberglass and has been here since at least 2004. [map]

Abraham Lincoln
and Pig
Taylorville, IL
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas
Freeport, IL
Abraham Lincoln
and Stephen Douglas
Ottawa, IL
Abraham Lincoln statues abound in Illinois. These are just a couple bronze versions. The Taylorville Abraham Lincoln shows him with a pig. The statue was installed in 2005 next to the courthouse where Lincoln practiced as a lawyer. Pigs used to root around and squeal under the courthouse. [map]

The life-sized statues in Freeport commemorate the second debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas which took place in 1858. The statues were installed in 1992 close to the actual site where the debate took place. [map]

The first of the seven Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debates were held in Ottawa. These larger-than-life, bronze statues are located in a fountain in Washington Square, near the site of this debate. The statues were dedicated in 2002. There are also many painted murals in town commemorating the event. Douglas was five feet four inches tall while Lincoln was six foot three. [map]

More Illinois Lincolns:
Bloomington
Niles [map]
Springfield
Springfield
Springfield [gone]
various cities

Frankenstein
Burbank, IL
This Frankenstein statue is installed at the Haunted Trails mini golf and entertainment center. In the 1960s, the place was known as Fun Fair. In 1975, it had been renamed Haunted Trails. The Frankenstein statue was installed around 1977. It was most likely produced by Creative Display which preceded FAST Fiberglass. The mold was based on the International Fiberglass Paul Bunyan statue but with many modifications. The statue originally faced Harlem Ave. When the mini golf course was redesigned, the statue moved to the course's entrance. For more, see this website. [map]

Beach Guy
Livingston, IL
This Beach Guy was installed at the Coliseum Ballroom Antique Mall in Benld, IL around 2001. In 2006, this statue was moved to the Pink Elephant Antiques Mall in Livingston. These giant Beach Guy statues were probably produced by FAST. These photos are from 2012. Around 2016, the statue's bare chest was painted to look like he was wearing a pink t-shirt with an elephant on it. For more, see this website. [map]

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