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Giant Globes (page 1)

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The giant globes shown in these pages are organized for the most part alphabetically by state.
Globe
Fort Payne, AL
The Globe was originally a Shriner's storage building in Tampa, FL. It was blown across the state during Hurricane Hugo. The present owner, a Shriner himself, brought it here. He says he wants to fix it up and put a cowboy hat on top. These photos are from 2007. By 2013, the globe had been repainted. The door is now missing. [map]

Waterman Globe
Mobile, AL
The Waterman Globe was installed from 1948-1973 in the Waterman Building in downtown Mobile. The Waterman Building was the headquarters for the Waterman Steamship Corporation. The rotating globe is 12 feet in diameter and made of aluminum. The countries are represented as they were in the 1940s. In the 1970s, the globe was cut into 300 pieces and put in storage. Restoration work on the globe began in 1996. In 1999, it was installed at Mitchell Center at the University of South Alabama. For more, see this website.

Cool Globes
Little Rock, AR
These 26 Cool Globes have been displayed at the Clinton Presential Center since 2021. They are part of the "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet" project meant to raise awareness about climate change. Each globe was decorated by a different artist. There have been other Cool Globes exhibitions in many other U.S. cities, Europe, and elsewhere. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Globe
Globe, AZ
 Globe [gone]
Phoenix, AZ
 Globe [gone]
Tucson, AZ
This Globe in Globe serves as a welcome sign to downtown. It was painted around 2021. [map]

The Globe in Phoenix was located at the entrance to the Phoenix Zoo. This photo is from 2012. It was demolished later that year.

The Globe in Tucson was a temporary installation. I assume it was originally used as an advertisement for an internet company. I think it was for sale at a flea market which was on this lot in 2012. It's gone now.

Los Angeles
Times Globe
Los Angeles, CA
 RKO Globe
Los Angeles, CA
The revolving, aluminum Los Angeles Times Globe is about five feet in diameter. It was built around 1935 and is installed on a bronze pedestal. The lobby also features murals by Hugo Ballin.

This RKO Globe occupies a corner of the former RKO movie studios building. In keeping with the RKO logo, there was once a radio tower on top of this globe originally. The building, which I believe is from 1921, is now occupied by Paramount Pictures. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Globe
San Francisco, CA
 King of Kings Fountain
Glendale, CA
This bronze and stainless steel figure and Globe sculpture in San Francisco is entitled "Urge." It was created by Chico MacMurtrie and installed in 1999. The figure is interactive: when someone sits on a bench nearby, the figure slowly squats. When the person stands up, so does the figure. For more, see this website. [map]

The globe in the King of Kings Fountain, aka the Fountain of Faith Memorial, is located at the Faith Center Church. The Church was built around 1955. The globe has a lit "eternal flame" on top and the words "King of Kings" in Greek. It was restored in 2012. The water was not turned on when these photos were taken in 2023. For more, see this website. [map]

Globe
Middletown, CA
 Globe Fountain
Universal City, CA
 Succulent Globe [gone]
Castroville, CA
The Globe in Middletown is installed in front of Calpine's Geothermal Visitor Center. It has been there since at least 2012. It is one of the 125 globes created for the Cool Globes exhibition in 2007. This globe was painted by Deirdre Fox. [map]

The Globe Fountain in Universal City is located at Universal Studios. The globe revolves. There is another globe at the Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. [map]

This Succulent Globe was 14 feet tall and revolved. There were more than 30,000 succulent plants inserted through wire mesh to create the face of the globe. It was built by Robin Stockwell in 2013 and exhibited at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. The globe was later moved to the Succulent Gardens. The globe was dismantled in 2014.

Sundial Globe
Sebastopol, CA		 Globe
Long Beach, CA
This concrete Sundial Globe in Sebastopol is installed in front of Park Side Elementary School. It is about two feet in diameter. It was installed in 1936 when the school was built. [map]

This Globe in Long Beach is made of bronze and is just over eight feet in diameter. It was built by Great American Bronze Works. It is a replica of the sculpture that has been missing since at least 2004. The sculpture was installed around 2009 in the median of a traffic circle in Douglas Park. It was commissioned by the Boeing Company as a tribute to the Donald Douglas aircraft plant which was demolished around 2005. The Douglas plant was replaced with a park and new commercial development. [map]

La Verne Business Park
La Verne, CA
 Globe
Clovis, CA
 Globe
Upland, CA
The globe at the La Verne Business Park was built in 2005 and installed here for Tofasco. It is 20 feet wide and entitled "Ironwork Globe." It was designed by Penwal Industries and built overseas. It is part of a no-longer operating fountain. [map]

This Globe in Clovis was installed in front of the Clovis Veterans Memorial District office by 2011. [map]

This Globe in Upland is installed on the roof of the Planet Car Wash which opened in 2023. It flashes in different colors at night. [map]

Leisure World
Seal Beach, CA
2008:
 2013:
 2017:
Leisure World
Silver Spring, MD
 Leisure World
Mesa, AZ
 Globe
Bethany, OK
The Leisure World chain of retirement communities produced these globes in the 1960s. They were inspired by the Unisphere. The steel and fiberglass globes are 32 feet tall and weigh about 4,000 pounds. They were designed by QRS Neon. The first location opened in Seal Beach in 1962. The globe was installed then. The fountain was turned off sometime between 2000 and 2004. The globe stopped revolving around 2011. In 2015, there were plans to restore it and paint it a bronze color. However, when the paint was stripped, the globe partially collapsed and it was deemed beyond repair. It remained under a tarp for over a year. In late 2016, the new bronze-colored globe was on display. [map]

The Leisure World globe in Silver Spring still revolves and is nicely maintained. I believe this location opened in 1966. By 2022, the globe had been painted bright green. [map]

The Leisure World in Mesa was built in 1973. The globe still has the water feature. [map]

The Leisure World in Laguna Hills, CA was the second location. The globe was moved from Laguna Hills to Laguna Woods in 2002. In 2007, the globe was demolished in 2007 after a lawsuit. The renamed Laguna Woods Village could no longer use the globe which was trademarked by Leisure World. For more, see this website.

There was a third location built in 1964 in Walnut Creek, CA. By the late 1980s, a couple of continents had fallen off the globe. It was dismantled in 1994 and eventually sold to Waterworld in Concord, CA. However, it was never used at the park. There was another Leisure World location in Monroe Township, NJ. I don't know if that one had a globe.

The Globe in Bethany is located in front of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church office complex. Although this globe looks identical to the ones used by Leisure World, as far as I know, there were never any locations in Oklahoma. According to the IPHC, this globe was built in the early 1970s when the church moved here from Georgia. The globe was a symbol of their ministry's growth to 40 states and 90 countries. Perhaps this globe was produced by the same manufacturer that made them for Leisure World. [map]

More California:
former Earl Scheib sign (Beverly Hills)
Crossroads of the World (Los Angeles)
World Savings & Loan Association (Lynwood) [vintage]
Huntington Library (San Marino)

Colorado:
Olympic Strength (Colorado Springs)

Giant Globes
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