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California Statues (page 1)

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Ballerina Clown
Venice, CA
 Fred Flintstone
Los Angeles, CA
 Surfer
Santa Cruz, CA
This Ballerina Clown is installed on the Renaissance Building, over a CVS drug store. Originally, the 30-foot-tall statue's right leg kicked. It was created by Jonathan Borofsky and installed here in 1989. For more, see this website. [map]

This Fred Flintstone statue is mounted on a pole in an empty lot. Does anyone know why he might be up there? The statue has been there since at least 2003. It may have come from a Bedrock City or Universal Studios. For more, see this website. [map]

This 18-foot-tall bronze Surfer statue was commissioned by the Santa Cruz Surfing Club in 1992. It was produced by Thomas Marsh. [map]

Duke Kahanamoku
Huntington Beach, CA
 Surfer
Huntington Beach, CA
 Surfer [gone]
Fallbrook, CA
This life-sized, bronze statue of Duke Kahanamoku is installed in front of Huntington Beach Surf Sport. The statue was created by Edmond Shumpert in the 1990s. Kanahamoku is considered the father of modern surfing and surfed in Huntington Beach. For more, see this website. [map]

The second bronze Surfer statue in Huntington Beach is commonly referred to as the Nude Dude. It is officially titled the "Ultimate Challenge." The nude statue was created by Edmond Shumpert in 1976. It is installed at the entrance to the Huntington City Beach. For more, see this website. [map]

This fiberglass Surfer statue in Fallbrook was located in front of a U-Haul truck rental store. This photo is from 2014. I believe the statue was installed here sometime after 2012. By 2015, the statue was gone.

Surfer
Cardiff, CA

2014:
2020:
This bronze Surfer statue, aka the "Cardiff Kook" was installed in 2007. The statue was created by Matthew Antichevich. It cost $120,000 and is entitled "Magic Carpet Ride". Many of the locals feel that the statue isn't masculine enough and that it doesn't adequately depict the town's surf culture. The statue is frequently decorated in different ways. Birthdays are a common theme. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Surfer
Hermosa Beach, CA
 Ben Carlson
Newport Beach, CA
This Surfer statue in Hermosa Beach represents Dewey Weber, a local surf legend who passed away in 1993. The statue was installed in front of the Hermosa Beach Community Center in 2015. For more, see this website. [map]

This statue of Ben Carlson is located near the foot of the Newport Pier. Carlson, a lifeguard, drowned in 2014 while saving a swimmer. The nine-foot-tall stainless-steel statue was created by Jake Janz and installed in 2016. For more, see this website. [map]

Surfer
Imperial Beach, CA
This bronze Surfer statue, aka The Spirit of Imperial Beach, is 18 feet tall including the base. It was built by James A. Wasil in 2018. The sculpture also includes fish, shells, crabs, and children with sandpails. The seven-foot-tall, generic surfer is meant to represent both surfers and lifeguards. [map]

Surfer
Hermosa Beach, CA
 Unknown Surfer
Malibu, CA
 Duke's Malibu
Malibu, CA
The Surfer statue in Hermosa Beach is entitled the Tim Kelly Lifeguard Memorial. This bronze statue was created by Chris Barela and installed in 2005. It was cast from an earlier statue by William Maloney. Tim Kelly, a surfer and lifeguard, was killed in a car crash at the age of 24 in 1964. The original statue was built in 1965 and was made of fiberglass and foam. For more, see this website.

The Unknown Surfer statue in Malibu shown above was installed in 2011. The six-foot-tall bronze statue was created by Jody Westheimer.

The Duke's Malibu statue representing Duke Kahanamoku was based on the sculpture of Duke in Waikiki, HI which was in installed in 1990. Duke's Malibu restaurant opened in 1996. For more, see this website. [map]

Phil Edwards
Dana Point, CA
 Hobie Alter
Dana Point, CA
Bruce Brown
Dana Point, CA
 John Severson
Dana Point, CA
 Joyce Hoffman
Dana Point, CA
These bronze sculptures were all created by Bill Limebrook and are installed in the park at Watermen's Plaza. [map]

Phil Edwards is a famous, local surfer. This statue was installed in 2019. For more, see this website.

The life-sized sculpture of Hobie Alter was installed in 2018. Alter developed the Hobie Catamaran in 1968. Alter also built surfboards and was part of the Dana Point surf culture.

Bruce Brown was a surfing filmmaker. This statue was installed in 2019.

John Severson was an artist, photographer, writer, and filmmaker. This statue was installed in 2020.

Joyce Hoffman dominated women's surfing in the 1960s. This statue was installed in 2022.

Baby [gone]
Long Beach, CA
 Chef
Los Angeles, CA
 Chef
Yountville, CA
 Giant Men [gone]
Marina del Rey, CA
 Captain Jack's Prime Rib
Sunset Beach, CA
The Giant Baby peered over the wall of the Long Beach Museum of Art. The 16-foot-tall ceramic piece, entitled "Child", was created by Matt Wedel. The neighbors were not happy about the bright yellow, naked sculpture which was installed in 2006 as a temporary exhibit. It was removed in 2008 shortly after this photo was taken. Wedel is keeping the sculpture in storage.

This Chef statue in Los Angeles is installed above the Capri Italian Restaurant. The restaurant has been here since 1963. This statue might be from then. [map]

This Chef statue in Yountville was created by Lorenzo Mills in 2012. The statue of "The Chef" is made from bronze, resin, and steel. [map]

These Giant Men stood on the roof of the Suit Warehouse when this photo was taken in 2008. By 2012, there was a different store here and the statues were gone.

Captain Jack's Prime Rib opened in 1964. I don't know how long this sailor statue has been here. It appears to be a wood carving. In 2022, the statue was moved to the back of the building. [second photo thanks R.B. Reed] [map]

Eiler Larsen
Laguna Beach, CA
 Eiler Larsen
Laguna Beach, CA
These Laguna Beach statues are tributes to Eiler Larsen, also known as "The Greeter". From the mid-1930s through the 1970s, Larsen stood on a corner in town and waved to passing cars and greeted people on the street. He passed away in 1979. This concrete statue shown on the above left was created by Charles Beauvais in the 1960s. It is installed in its original spot at the former Pottery Shack which has been converted into restaurants, shops, and galleries. [map]

The second statue above is installed in front of the Greeter's Corner Restaurant. It was created by Guy Angelo Wilson in 1986 from a redwood log. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

former Carpeteria Genie
North Hollywood, CA

2013:

2017:
The Carpeteria carpet store chain was established in 1960 in Santa Clarita, CA. The first locations were located in the Los Angeles area. I believe the stores only existed in California and Nevada. The company folded in 1999. I believe these genie icons have always been used in their advertising and in conjunction with their signs. These statues are about 20 feet tall and are identical on both sides. They originally supported a Carpeteria sign which graphically represented a roll of carpet.

This North Hollywood location housed L&S Carpet when the photos above were taken in 2013. This statue is probably from the 1960s or 1970s. In 2017, Superior Tile moved in and repainted the statue orange and black. I believe there are only five of these statues left. There are two statues in Reno and Las Vegas, NV and two others at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, OH. [map]

Atlas
Van Nuys, CA
 Atlas
Sacramento, CA
Atlas
Hayward, CA
The Atlas statue in Van Nuys is installed on the roof of the Duk Su Jang Restaurant. [map]

The Atlas statue in Sacramento is installed in front of California Family Fitness. [map]

The Atlas statue in Hayward was located at a farm in Michigan for about 25 years. It arrived at Bell Plastics in 2018. The statue will be restored and displayed with various other statues at the company. [map]

These statues were originally installed at Jack LaLanne Fitness Centers. This was a nationwide chain and there are still a number of these statues around the country being used by various businesses. Two other examples can be found in Reno, NV and Scarsdale, NY. There are several of these statues at various Rainforest Cafe locations. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

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