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Ohio Statues

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Jacques
Marblehead, OH
This Jacques statue stood in front of the Jacques' Roast Beef in Marion, OH in the 1960s-1970s. There was an identical statue built for the Mansfield location. These statues held giant roast beef sandwiches. The Mansfield statue was removed due to violation of local sign ordinances. The statue was in pieces in a field behind a factory in Mansfield since 1972. In 2022, it was restored as a giant bobblehead statue and is installed at Buckeye Express Diner in Bellville. (1, 2, 3 [photos thanks Harold Roane])

The Marion location was damaged in a fire around 1969 and closed. By the 1980s, the statue shown above had been moved to Marblehead where his sandwich was swapped out for a pizza box. The statue became known as Big Pierre. The pizza shop is long gone. There is a Shell gas station next to him now. The statue's pizza box and hands have been missing for decades. In 2022, new hands were built for the statue. [map]

Pizza Chef
St. Clairsville, OH
This Pizza Chef was installed next to Halloran's Home Pizza which opened in 1968. There was another one of these statues in Sugar Grove, IL. These fiberglass statues may have been inspired by these Pizza Chef statues which were mass-produced. The business closed in 2020. Later that year, the statue was painted and reinstalled in Halloran Park. [map]

Jesus [gone]
Lebanon, OH		 King Gambrinus
Columbus, OH
This-62 foot-tall Jesus torso rose from behind a reflecting pool at the Solid Rock Church. The statue was made from fiberglass and styrofoam, over a metal frame. It was installed in 2003. The church referred to him as the "King of Kings" but locals nicknamed him "Touchdown Jesus", "Drowning Jesus", "Butter Jesus", and "Big J". The statue was lit at night with spotlights from below. It was visible from I-75.

In 2010, the statue was destroyed when it was struck by lightning and caught fire. In 2012, the church erected a more conventional full-body, striding statue. It is 52 feet tall. Locals refer to it as "Zombie Jesus", "Hug Me Jesus" and "Five Dollar Foot Long Jesus". For more, see this website. [map]

According to legend, King Gambrinus was the inventor of beer. This statue was installed in 1905 above the entrance to the August Wagner Brewery. This brewery was one of 29 located in what is now called the Brewery District. In 1975, the Columbus Dispatch newspaper bought the statue when the brewery closed and was slated for demolition. The statue was restored and put in a park near his original location. There are other Gambrinus statues in Baltimore, MD, La Crosse & Milwaukee, WI, and New Orleans, LA. [map]

Atlas
Columbus, OH		 Topiary Park
Columbus, OH		 Chief Leatherlips
Dublin, OH
This Atlas statue came from a Jack LaLanne Fitness Center. There are still many of these statues around the country repurposed for other companies. This statue is now located on the roof of Atlas Construction. [map]

Topiary Park features a topiary sculptural interpretation of Georges Seurat's painting "Un Dimanche Après-midi à l'Ile de la Grande Jatte" (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte). The figures include 54 humans, eight boats, three dogs, a monkey, and a cat. The topiary figures were created by James T. Mason in 1989. Another sculptural representation of this painting was installed in Davenport, IA. For more, see this website.

The Chief Leatherlips monument is a 12-foot-tall limestone sculpture. It was created by Ralph Helmick and installed in Scioto Park in 1990. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

More Ohio:
Rubber Worker (Akron)
Bust of Lincoln (Ashtabula) [gone]
John Glenn (Cambridge)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Columbus) [map]
newsboy (Columbus)
Atlas (Dayton) [gone]
Johnny Appleseed (Lakewood)
Archer (Lisbon)
Elektro (Mansfield)
Fat Guy (Martins Ferry)
Thomas Edison (Milan)
Jesus (Milton Township)
Coal Miner (Shawnee)
Ohio Valley Steelworker (Steubenville)
Little Caesars (Toledo)
Abraham Lincoln (Troy) [gone]

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