email: roadarch@outlook.com

Octopus Statues

(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)

Octopus
Scranton, PA		 Octopus [gone?]
Port Isabel, TX
This Octopus in Scranton is located on the roof of Cooper's Seafood House. He holds a pirate in one of his arms. Cooper's building is shaped like a ship and there is also a lighthouse at one end and several other pirate statues. [map]

This Octopus in Port Isabel was in bad shape when I thook this photo in 2008. I don't know if it is still there. I didn't make note of the location and I can't find it anywhere at Google Street View now. My guess is that the store below was some sort of souvenir stand.

Octopus
Gulf Shores, AL		 Octopus and Pirates
Wildwood, NJ
The Octopus in Gulf Shores is located at Gulf Shores Souvenirs and Gifts. It has been there since at least 2006. [map]

The Octopus and Pirates in Wildwood are located at Old Time Photos on the boardwalk. They were created by Mark Cline in 2011. The skull and wrecked ship have been there since at least 2007. [map]

Octopus
Key Largo, FL
This Octopus was installed on the roof of Mother Ocean in 2019. [map]

Octopus
Bokeelia, FL
This Octopus has been there since at least 2007 when the building housed Pine Island Paint. The building now houses Amberjack Marine. [map]

Octopus Car Wash [gone]
University Ave.
Madison, WI

Octopus Car Wash [gone]
E. Washington Ave.
Madison, WI		 Octopus Car Wash [gone]
Park St.
Madison, WI		 Octopus Car Wash
Milwaukee, WI
The Octopus Car Wash chain was established in Rock Island, IL in 1953. At the company's peak, there were 30 locations built in Wisconsin, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, and Florida. The spinning octopus mascot is named "Ozzie". I believe eight of these 15-foot-tall statues were built around 1963 by the Naegle Outdoor Advertising Company. The original sculpture from which the mold was made was produced by Bob Johnson. The car wash chain was originally named Colonial Car Wash. More of these statues may have been produced later since there were supposedly about 25 of them built. The first statues were installed in the Wisconsin. The one in Milwaukee is the only one left on public display.

In 2014 and 2015, the Madison and Albuquerque locations were sold to the Mister Car Wash chain based in Tucson, AZ. Those statues were removed. In 2017, Mister Car Wash bought the Farmington, NM and Pueblo, CO locations. There are still locations in Tucson, AZ; the Denver, CO area, and the Orlando, FL area but none of them have these statues.

The University Ave. sign shown in the top row above had flags on the poles when the first photo as taken in 2006. The other photos of that location are from 2011.

In 2015, it was announced that the E. Washington Ave. location's statue would be relocated somewhere else in town. I don't know if that has happened.

The front arm of the Park St. octopus curled back towards its body unlike the others which extend and hold a vacuum.

The Milwaukee location closed and is now going by the name Actopus 7 Express Car Wash. The Octopus is still there. [map]

Octopus Car Wash [gone]
Rockford, IL
The interior of this Rockford location had a neon and a stained-glass octopus as well. The other Rockford locations were sold to Mister Car Wash in 2015. In 2016, this location also became a Mister Car Wash. The sign was reworked and the octopus was removed.

Octopus Car Wash [gone]
Sterling, IL

Octopus Car Wash
Albuquerque, NM
2012: 2017:
The Octopus Car Wash in Sterling opened in 1965. It was the only location still operating in Illinois when it closed in 2020. This statue is gone now.

This Albuquerque location was apparently adapted from a pre-existing car wash. There was a Chevron gas station on lot as well. The octopus was installed in 1995. The octopus was removed in 2014 when the Albuquerque locations became Mister Car Washes. The building was repainted to reflect the Mister Car Wash color scheme. There were plans to move this statue to location in Pueblo, CO. However, by 2015, it was not there. In 2017, the Pueblo location closed and became a Mister Car Wash. For more, see this website. [map]

Octopus Car Wash
Farmington, NM (now Hayward, CA)
2017: 2023:
The Farmington location opened sometime after 2012. This statue was previously used in annual parades in Crystal, MN. I don't know how it wound up in Farmington (or Crystal, for that matter). Just after this photo of the was taken in 2017, it was announced that this location had been sold to Mister Car Wash. The statue is now part of the Bell Plastics statue collection in Hayward. It is not known where Bell's other octopus statue came from. [map]

More Octopus:
Pacific Grove, CA
Branson, MO
Minneapolis, MN [gone]
Carolina Beach, NC
Ocean City, NJ
Canton, OH
Gig Harbor, WA [gone?]
Port Angeles, WA
Xiamen, China

Animal Statues Main Page