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Illinois Statues (page 5)

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Wild Bill Hickok
Troy Grove, IL
This bust of Wild Bill Hickok, a Civil War scout and spy, was created by William Piller and installed in 2009. It replaced a carved, wooden bust that had been there for about 10 years and was damaged by sweather. This bust is located in a small park on the block where Hickok was born. [map]

University Park:
Paul Bunyan

Ramses Statue & Gold Pyramid
Wadsworth, IL

2006:
2024:
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. After being closed for many years, the Gold Pyramid reopened in 2011 for tours and conference space. The Pyramid was damaged by a fire in 2018 it has been closed since then. The Pyramid was rebuilt in 2022 and it is expected to reopen in 2025. The columns at the entrance and gift shop are gone now. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Onan Roofers
Gurnee, IL (now Waukegan, IL)

2006:
2011: 2024:
Onan Roofers, originally Onan Garages, was founded in 1955. This statue is owned by Jim Onan who also owns the Gold Pyramid in Wadsworth, IL (see above). I assume that 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, the sign's neon had been removed and the letters were 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, Onan Enterprises, in Waukegan. The sphinxes were there by 2007. The sarcophagi were installed sometime after 2018. The statue on the roof is still there. [map]

The Big John statues shown below are about 30 feet tall. They originally wore checkered shirts, blue jeans, and an apron, and carried giant bags of groceries. They were built for the Big John grocery store chain which was based in Carmi, IL and was established in 1960. These statues were designed by Jimmy Boyd and produced around 1967 by the General Sign Co. in Cape Girardeau, MO. The stores and statues were named after the 1961 hit song about a coal miner, "Big Bad John." There were about 30 Big John stores in Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, and Tennessee. It is believed about 25 of these statues were produced. Some of the statues were sold and moved. However, most of the statues were moved back to the company's headquarters in Carmi as stores closed. When the company moved its headquarters to a new location around 2000, the remaining statues were destroyed. Only nine of these statues are known to have survived: the three shown here in Illinois and six others (see blue box below). There was another statue in Olney, IL which is gone now. In 2019, the original molds for these statues were found in Tennessee. Mark Cline has produced a couple of statues with them. For more, see this website.

Big John
Eldorado, IL

2010:
2024:
This Big John statue stands in front of a still-operating Big John grocery store. It was repainted in 2023. [map]

Big John
Metropolis, IL

2010:
2024:
This Big John store opened in 1986 and this statue has been there since then. It came from the Big John headquarters in Carmi, IL. The Metropolis store is still operating. In 2014, the right arm of the Metropolis statue fell off and shattered. The arm was repaired and the statue restored in 2015. He now holds just the one grocery bag and waves with the right arm. For more, see this website. [map]

Big John
Carmi, IL

2006:
2024:

This Big John statue stands in front of the Little Giant Grocery Outlet. By 2013, the statue had been repainted with a white shirt and red apron. [map]

More Big Johns:
Cape Coral, FL
Hutchinson, KS
St. Louis, MO (as two pieces)
Walls, MS
Gainesville, TX (two statues removed: now in Ohio and Texas)
Unger, WV

For more about Big John statues, see this website.

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