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Illinois Statues (page 2)

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Fisherman and Trout
Niles, IL (now Twin Lakes, WI)
The Fisherman and Trout statues had been abandoned for decades. The dense vegetation made them nearly impossible to shoot. The statues advertised for the Fishermen's Dude Ranch fishing ponds which existed from 1957-1997. I believe the Fisherman held a fishing pole with a line that extended to the lure in the Trout's mouth. The ponds were filled in but the statues remained. The statues were produced by FAST Fiberglass. In 2015, the statues were sold to the owners of Mad Dan's in Twin Lakes, WI. Later that year, the statues were restored and installed on the roof of the restaurant. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Port Byron:
Bicyclist

Rockmen Guardians
Rockford, IL
The Rockmen Guardians were built from 1987-1988 by Terese Agnew. The four statues are about 12 feet tall and made of granite rocks and cement. They are located in a park next to the Rock River. [map]

Revolutionary Soldier [gone]
St. Charles, IL
The Revolutionary Soldier is 18 feet tall and holds a 14-foot-long musket. The statue was carved from a fallen oak tree by the store's owner. It was completed in 1976 as a bicentennial memorial. The Soldier was installed in front of Custom Furniture. The photos above are from 2012. In 2014, it was announced that the store was closing. In 2017, the statue and chair were disassembled and moved to Pingree Gove, IL where they were to be restored. In 2020, the chair was restored. The statue is still being worked on. Neither are on display yet. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

More St. Charles:
Humpty Dumpty

Ironworker
Steeleville, IL

This Ironworker sculpture was installed in front of the United Ironworkers building sometime after 2018. [map]

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.

University Park:
Paul Bunyan

Ramses Statue & Gold Pyramid
Wadsworth, IL
The 55-foot-tall Ramses Statue stands in front of the Gold Pyramid. The Pyramid is a six-story tall, 17,000 square foot private home. It was the largest 24 karat gold-plated object ever created, before its exterior was stripped. The building contains a replica of King Tut's tomb. There is also a garage with three pyramids and a gift shop. The place opened in 1977. These photos are from 2006. After being closed for many years, the Gold Pyramid reopened in 2011 for tours and conference space. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Onan Roofers
Gurnee, IL (now Waukegan, IL)

2006:
2011:
Onan Roofers, originally Onan Garages, was founded in 1955. This statue is owned by Jim Onan who also owns the Gold Pyramid above. I assume the statue was modeled after Jim. The statue has a garage tucked under his right arm and holds a hammer in his left hand. It was originally part of a sign with blocks that spelled out O-N-A-N. By 2006 when the top row of photos were taken, the neon had been removed and the letters painted over. Around 2007, the company moved and the statue and sign were removed. The statue was repainted and installed in 2010 at the company's offices in Waukegan. [map]

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