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New Jersey Statues

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Beach Guy [gone]
Seaside Heights, NJ
 Mr. Peanut [gone]
Atlantic City, NJ		 Abraham Lincoln
Newark, NJ		 Pirate
Wildwood Crest, NJ
The Beach Guy is 30 feet tall. The statue was built by FAST around 1986. This was the first one built of this type. Since the statue was partly funded by Coca-Cola, the statue was designed to hold a can of Coca-Cola. He was installed at the Waterworks water park which was redesigned and renamed Breakwater Beach. By 2007, this statue was gone. Does anyone know where it went? There are other examples of these statues in Livingston, IL, Hampton, MN, and Unger, WV.

Mr. Peanut was installed on the Boardwalk in 2006. He was made of fiberglass and foam which made him vulnerable to rough handling. In 2007, he was repaired and moved to the Garden Pier Art Center where he was much less visible and could be locked up at night. In 2012, he was vandalized again and was going to be repaired. As of 2014, the statue is still in storage. Mr. Peanut and Planters Peanuts have been part of Atlantic City history since the 1930s. For more, see this website.

This bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln was installed here in front of the old Essex County Courthouse in 1911. It is officially known as "Seated Lincoln". The statue was created by Gutzon Borglum who is responsible for the reliefs of Mount Rushmore. My small dog, Gripper, sat in Lincoln's lap to give a sense of scale. A replica of this statue was installed in 2010 in Boise, ID. There is another replica in Keystone, SD. [map]

This Pirate statue stands near the Two Mile Landing Crab House restaurant. The restaurant says the statue represents a ship's captain. [map]

Babylonian Snake God [gone]
Lumberton, NJ
The Babylonian Snake God was originally a prop for the 1955 movie "The Prodigal". The statue was located in Smyrna, DE from 1984 until it was moved to New Jersey. Denny Van Istendal bought the 11-foot-tall statue for about $5,000 with the intention of using it as the mascot for his landscaping business. It wound up in his backyard. At some point, the head of the snake was broken off. Many neighbors were upset since this statue was quite visible over the fence. By 2009, the statue had been moved towards the front yard. Signs indicated that both the house and the statue were for sale. By 2011, the statue was gone. According to one report, it was sold and would be installed on the roof of a bar in Philadelphia. I don't believe that ever happened. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Hulk
Matawan, NJ		 Army Soldier [gone]
Blackwood, NJ
This Hulk statue is located at Fitness City. [map]

This Army Soldier statue stood in front of Nitro Gal at Werbany's Tire Town when these photos were taken in 2009. The statue was previously located in Woodbury, NJ at an Army/Navy surplus store. His hands and rifle were missing. The statue was sold around 2013. It is not known where it is located now. There is an identical statue in Upper Darby, PA.

King Neptune
Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 Sailor
Wildwood, NJ
 Lumberjack, Indiana Jones, and Vikings
Seaside Heights, NJ
King Neptune, aka Poseidon, has been moved around a bit. He was previously at Suntan Lake was located at Sun Tan Lake in Riverdale, NJ for about 40 years. It was then moved to an antique shop near Franklin, NJ. This statue is difficult to photograph since he's on private property on the lake. I don't think the statue ever had a lower torso. He originally held a trident in his right hand like this statue in Morehead City, NC.

This Sailor stands next to one of the water rides on Morey's Pier.

The Lumberjack, Indiana Jones and Vikings statues were located on the Pier when these photos were taken in 2007. I don't know where they came from or how long they had been here. They were also accompanied by a Mortimer Snerd statue, a chicken, a Yogi Bear, and a Mighty Mouse. I don't know if these statues were removed in time before Hurricane Sandy destroyed the Pier in 2012.

Franklin Menz
Rio Grande, NJ

2007:
2012:
The Franklin Menz statue is a tribute to the founder of the Menz restaurant. Menz lost one of his legs in 1926 to cancer. He passed away in 1992. In 2008, the chair had fallen apart and the statue was moved back to the air conditioning unit. His cigar was missing at that time. It was replaced with a much larger one. In 2017, the statue was removed for a complete restoration. It was reinstalled in 2019. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Kiss [gone]
Hamilton, NJ
The Kiss statue is officially entitled "Unconditional Surrender". It was based on the famous VJ Day photo of a sailor kissing a nurse. The photo was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1945 and appeared in Life Magazine. The 26-foot-tall statue was created by J. Seward Johnson. This statue was installed in 2010. In 2011, it was relocated to Rome, Italy. There are identical statues in Sarasota, FL and San Diego, CA.

Dancers and Musicians
Hamilton, NJ
These statues of Dancers and Musicians were also produced by J. Seward Johnson. The dancing couples are entitled "Turn of the Century," "Whispering Close," and "Time for Fun". They were based on figures from Renoir's "Dance in the City" painting. The two musicians are entitled "Los Mariachis". The statues are all about 20 feet tall. These statues are part of the 35-acre "Grounds for Sculpture" which was founded by Johnson in 1992. These photos are from 2012. These statues were still there in 2015. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

God Bless America
Hamilton, NJ
This God Bless America sculpture was also produced by J. Seward Johnson. It was inspired by Grant Wood's "American Gothic" painting. The sculpture is 25 feet tall. It is also part of the Johnson's Grounds for Sculpture. This statue was previously displayed in Chicago; Key West; Dubuque, IA; and Mesa, AZ. It was installed here in 2011. Johnson's life-sized sculpture of a young couple looked on from across the street. They appeared to be missing in 2018. They were back in 2019 but gone again in 2021. [map]

medical figures
New Brunswick, NJ
These medical figures are miniature not giant but I'll include them anyway. The figures were created by George Greenamyer in 1994. They are perched on a beam in front of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Clinical Academic Building. The sculpture was commissioned by the medical center with assistance from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. For more, see this website. [map]

More New Jersey:
Bert Parks (Atlantic City)
Boxer (Bayonne)
Miner (Franklin) [map]
Man & Guide Dog (Morristown)
Pirate (Ocean City) [map]
Buddha (Princeton)
Pirate (Wildwood)

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