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California Statues (page 2)

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Baby [gone]
Long Beach, CA
 Chef [gone]
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 was installed above the Capri Italian Restaurant. The restaurant had been here since 1963. This statue might be from then. It closed in 2019 and the statue is gone.

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
2018: 2023 and 2020:
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.

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]

David
Hayward, CA
2018:
 2023:

Burger Boy
Hayward, CA
2018:
 2023:
These David and Burger Boy statues are located at Bell Plastics where there are many other statues on display. It is not known where these statues came from or if others like them were produced. Despite some information online, this Burger Boy statue did not come from a Kip's Big Boy. From the beginning, Kip's was a Big Boy franchise and used the same Big Boy mascot in advertising, menus, and statues as the character that we know today. This statue in Hayward is most likely a one-off. I believe the legs shown on the right above are the lower half of this statue. [map]

Bobblehead
Hayward, CA
 Gas Station Attendant [gone]
Hayward, CA
This statue appears to be a giant Bobblehead. I don't know who it is supposed to represent. The statue is on display at Bell Plastics.

This Gas Station Attendant was installed at Bell Plastics in 2014. It was built for a gas station but was never installed due to city restrictions. It was on long-term loan to Bruce Kennedy, the owner of Bell Plastics. The statue went back to the owner in 2016. It is no longer on public display. However, there are many other giant statues at Bell Plastics. [map]

Lenin [gone]
Los Angeles, CA
 Spirit of American Youth
Glendale, CA
 Marines
Santa Maria, CA
This bust of Lenin was installed in front of the Ace Museum in 2011. The stainless-steel sculpture is about 14 feet tall. It is entitled "Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head". It was created by Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang. In 2018, the sculpture was moved to private property.

This 18-foot-tall Spirit of American Youth sculpture is located at the Americana at Brand shopping mall. It was built in 2008 as a replica of a sculpture in France memorializing Americans that died fighting at Normandy during World War II. For more, see this website.

These two Marine statues are owned by a private collector and displayed in his backyard. There was another one like this in Bethesda, MD. If you know of any others, I'd love to hear from you. These are the six-foot-tall models. They were also produced in three-foot-tall models.

Cameron's Pub
Half Moon Bay, CA
 Nikola Tesla
Palo Alto, CA
This English Royal Guard and peg-legged, wood-carved statues are located inside Cameron's Pub.

The bronze sculpture of Nikola Tesla holding a wireless light bulb was created by Terry Guyer and installed in 2013. For more, see this website. [map]

Eadweard Muybridge
San Francisco, CA
 Philo Farnsworth
San Francisco, CA
The two bronze sculptures were installed at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in 2008. They were created by Lawrence Noble. Eadweard Muybridge is considered the Father of Cinema and Philo Farnsworth is considered the Father of TV. [map]

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