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New York Statues

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Magic Forest [gone]
Lake George, NY
Caveman
 Indian
Rip Van Winkle
 Hansel & Gretel
 Astronauts
 Robin Hood
Giant Santa
 Lumberjack and Mortimer Snerd
These statues were located at Magic Forest. There were many other statues located here that are described in the International Fiberglass section, including a Paul Bunyan, a Cowboy, and a Pirate. In 2018, the owner auctioned off most of the statues and re-theme the park. In 2019, the place reopened as the Lake George Expedition Park and Dino Roar Valley. The Robin Hood and several other statues were sold to Storybook Land in Egg Harbor, NJ. The Indian is now located elsewhere in Lake George. Others are now in private collections. A few others may find their way back to public display again.

The Big Santa was from the same mold as those shown at this page. It was part of the original park which opened in 1963 and was known as Christmas City, USA. The name was changed to Magic Forest in 1965. The Caveman and Astronauts statues came from Time Town, an amusement park in Bolton Landing, NY which operated from 1970-1981. An identical Caveman statue is located in Grants Pass, OR.

Magic Forest also had Giant Roosters, Giant Reindeer, a Pig Chef, two Teen Burgers and a Baby Burger, and various fairy tale figures.

I don't know where the Lumberjack was located originally. It was one of several statues at Magic Forest which came from other places. Among the International Fiberglass statues were this Mortimer Snerd, a Paul Bunyan and a Cowboy. There was also an International Fiberglass Viking statue in storage which came from Lake Placid, NY. For more, see this website.

The owner of Magic Forest, Arthur Gillette, got many of these fiberglass statues from a junkyard in Knoxville, TN. He went there twice a year to pick them up and restore them. Some figures came from the Danbury Fair, the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair, and Fantasyland Park in Gettysburg, PA. The park's collection grew to over 1,000 statues before nearly everything was sold.

Davy Crockett
Broadalbin, NY
 Michelin Man and
Bubbles the Dog [gone]
East Greenbush, NY
 Knight [gone]
Oneonta, NY
 Gnome Chomsky
Kerhonkson, NY
Davy Crockett was originally located at Frontier Town, a 1950s Wild West theme park in North Hudson, NY. The park closed in 1998. This statue now stands at the entrance of Adirondack Animal Land. For more, see this website. [map]

This statue of the Michelin Man and Bubbles the Dog was a wood-carving. It was installed in front of Grand Premier Tire & Wheel when this photo was taken in 2010. By 2014, the statue was gone.

The Knight statue was located at Popek's Books. It was about 12 feet tall and looks like it had been here for many years. This photo is from 2005. The statue was still there in 2012. In 2014, Popek's moved. By 2015, the statue was gone.

Gnome Chomsky is over 13 feet tall and is acknowledged by Guinness World's Records as the world's largest garden gnome. He was built in 2003 as part of a mini golf course in New York City. The statue is now at Gnome on the Grange (now Home-Grown Mini Golf), a farm-theme mini golf course at Kelder's Farm. In order to qualify for the Guinness record, the gnome was recreated out of cement. For more, see this website. [map]

Leather Guy
Mayfield, NY (now Amsterdam, NY)

2001:
2010:
The Leather Guy was built by Rod Shutt in 1971. The 24-foot-tall statue represented Steve Alvord, the owner of Alvord's House of Leather. The top two photos are from around 2001 and show the statue in front of the renamed store, the Adirondack Leather Shop. In 2006, the statue was moved into storage. In 2010, the statue reappeared, completely restored, at the entrance to town. He advertises for a log homes manufacturer. The statue held his glasses in his right hand when these photos were taken. The glasses had disappeared by 2014. In 2016, the statue was moved to the Wildlife Sports & Educational Museum in Amsterdam, NY. For more, see this website. [map]

For more statues created by Shutt, see this page.

Landmark Motor Inn
Fort Edward, NY
The Landmark Motor Inn has several horse racing related statues. They appear to have been created by the same artist. [map]

Musketeers
Westhampton, NY
These Musketeers stand in front of the Casa Basso Restaurant. The statues and the castle were created by Theophilus Brower in the late 1800s. The Musketeers are about 12 feet tall and made of concrete. The restaurant building was originally used as Brower's workshop. It was converted into a restaurant in 1928 and is still in operation today. The castle building was originally used to display Brower's art. For more, see this website. [map]

Egyptian
Guardian [gone]
Brooklyn, NY		 Fisherman
Brooklyn, NY		 Sphinx
Bayport, NY
This four-foot-tall Egyptian Guardian statue had been in front of the Mr. Falafel restaurant since at least 1990. The statue was modeled after the pair of statues that guarded King Tut's tomb. By 2021, there was a Mexican restaurant here and the statue was gone.

This Fisherman is located at Jordan's Lobster Dock. Jordan's was established in Manhattan in 1938. This location opened in the mid-1980s. This statue has been here since at least 2007. [map]

This 10-foot-tall Sphinx was originally installed around 1911 in front of the Anchorage Inn in Blue Point, NY. The Inn was destroyed by fire in 1928 and the Sphinx deteriorated over the years. It was moved here to the Fontana Cement Co. in 1974. It was then restored in 1981. For more, see this website. [map]

Vidler on the Roof
East Aurora, NY
The Vidler on the Roof statue was installed on the roof of Vidler's in 2010. The 10-foot-tall statue represents Edward W. Vidler, the store's 81 year old President. Rather than fiberglass, this statue was made from Magic-Sculpt, a two-part epoxy clay-like substance mixed with hardener and resin. Vidler's opened in 1930 as The Fair Store. In 1945, the store was renamed Vidler's 5 & 10. [map]

Giant Men [gone]
Bethel, NY
2005:
2010:
The Bethel Men were installed here around 2003. The heroic figures included two prisoners of war and a September 11 memorial with three firefighters, a vintage firetruck, and a policeman. By 2008, these statues were beginning to deteriorate and the firetruck was gone. By 2010, most of the statues had been damaged or destroyed by fire and vandalism. By 2018, the statues were gone. Does anyone know anything more about the artist and these statues?

More New York:
Popeye (Aquebogue)
Dutch Girl with Doll (Bronx)
O'Side Lounge (Bronx)
Paul Bunyan (Buffalo)
Knight (Canandaigua)
Rip Van Winkle (Catskill)
Fisherman (Lido Beach)
Alice in Wonderland (New York) [map]
Atlas (New York)
Chef (New York)
Lenin (New York)
Prometheus (New York)
Ralph Kramden (New York) [map]
Davey Crockett (Phoenicia)
Soldier (Rome) [map]
Bigfoot (Round Top)
Abraham Lincoln (Westfield) [map]
Charlie the Butcher (Williamsville)

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