Bangor, Maine
Another 31-foot (9.4 m) statue can be found in Bangor, Maine. Standing since 1959, it weighs 3700 pounds. [2] The statue is shown with a large ax in one hand, and a peavey in the other hand. [2]
There are a number of statues of Paul Bunyan on display in the United States.
A statue of Paul Bunyan is the 31-foot-tall (9.4 m) concrete and metal sculpture which has stood in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland, Oregon since 1959. [1]
Another 31-foot (9.4 m) statue can be found in Bangor, Maine. Standing since 1959, it weighs 3700 pounds. [2] The statue is shown with a large ax in one hand, and a peavey in the other hand. [2]
At the Trees of Mystery in Klamath, California there is the 49-foot (15 m) tallest known statue of Paul Bunyan." [3]
When the 26-foot "Muffler Man" Paul Bunyan was erected in front of a local lumber business in the 1980s, the town objected to the statue, citing that it was a violation of town codes given its substantial height. Finding no limitation on flagpole height on the books, the owners of the statue replaced Bunyan's axe with an American flag. [4]
Located off Exit 145 of I-95 in Rocky Mount, NC, a 40-foot Paul Bunyan statue stands as advertisement for Log Cabin Homes sales center. [5] This statue was purchased from a family owned entertainment center in Brainerd, Minnesota, and relocated to North Carolina in 2011. [6]
Smaller (although still larger than life) statues can also be found in Akeley, Bemidji, and Brainerd, Minnesota; Manistique and Ossineke, Michigan; Muncie, Indiana; Aberdeen, South Dakota; and Lakewood, Wisconsin and Wabeno Wisconsin. [2] Paul Bunyan's Log Chute, an amusement park ride inside Bloomington, Minnesota's Mall of America, also houses large statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. The Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum at Carson Park (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) has statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. The Rumford, Maine visitor center is home to giant statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. In Stony Point, New York at local Scout Camp Bullowa, there is a 18 foot tall statue at the southern entrance. There is also a 19-foot Paul Bunyan in the Enchanted Forest Water Safari in Old Forge, New York that was built in 1956.
Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers, and was later popularized by freelance writer William B. Laughead (1882–1958) in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company. He has been the subject of various literary compositions, musical pieces, commercial works, and theatrical productions. His likeness is displayed in a number of oversized statues across North America.
Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled using hand tools and dragged by oxen to rivers.
Westwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lassen County, California, United States. Westwood is located 20 miles (32 km) west-southwest of Susanville, at an elevation of 5,128 feet. Its population is 1,541 as of the 2020 census, down from 1,647 from the 2010 census..
Bemidji is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,946, making it the largest commercial center between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Duluth.
A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some tall tales are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories such as, "That fish was so big, why I tell ya', it nearly sank the boat when I pulled it in!" Other tall tales are completely fictional tales set in a familiar setting, such as the European countryside, the American frontier, the Canadian Northwest, the Australian outback, or the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
Lake Bemidji is a small glacially-formed lake, approximately 11 square miles in area, in northern Minnesota in the United States. Located less than 50 miles (80 km) downstream from the source of the Mississippi River, it both receives and is drained by the Mississippi, and is the northernmost point on the river.
Kenton is a neighborhood in the north section of Portland, Oregon, United States. The neighborhood was originally a company town founded in 1911 for the Swift Meat Packing Company.
Novelty architecture, also called programmatic architecture or mimetic architecture, is a type of architecture in which buildings and other structures are given unusual shapes for purposes such as advertising or to copy other famous buildings without any intention of being authentic. Their size and novelty means that they often serve as landmarks. They are distinct from architectural follies, in that novelty architecture is essentially usable buildings in eccentric form whereas follies are non-usable, purely ornamental buildings also often in eccentric form.
Paul Bunyan is a mythical lumberjack.
Trees of Mystery is a park and tourist attraction along U.S. Route 101 near the coastal town of Klamath, California. It features interpretive trails through Giant Redwoods and a number of unusual tree formations, many of which can be seen from its Trail of Mysterious Trees. Its Trail of Tall Tales displays some 50 chainsaw sculptures and carvings illustrating stories of legendary logger Paul Bunyan and his crew.
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are the names of a pair of large statues of the American folk hero Paul Bunyan and his ox, located in Bemidji, Minnesota. This roadside attraction has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988.
Log Chute, formerly known as Paul Bunyan's Log Chute sometimes Fog Chute for Halloween or Yule Log Chute for Christmas, and the Love Chute for Valentine's Day is a log flume attraction sponsored by Xcel Energy at Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe in Bloomington, Minnesota. It opened on August 11, 1992, and is one of the mall's oldest surviving acquisitions from Knott's Camp Snoopy. The ride is based on the tall tale of Paul Bunyan and is set in a mountain lumber mill featuring two lift hills and two drops as passengers experience singing animatronics, including a 19-foot tall Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. The attraction was designed to keep riders dry enough so that they could comfortably continue shopping. Holiday overlays for Halloween and Christmas have been put into place since 2017 with the "Fog Chute" and "Yule Log Chute", with the animatronic characters being dressed in festive costumes. For Halloween, Paul has been dressed as a pirate, Jim Hopper from Stranger Things, and Hulk Hogan promoting the short-lived Pastamania restaurant once housed in the mall. A 2022 April Fools Day prank had the attraction become the "Kenny Loggins Chute" with Paul being dressed as the musician.
The Paul Bunyan State Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail in north-central Minnesota, United States, running between the cities of Baxter/Brainerd and Bemidji. It is named after the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan of American folklore.
Paul Bunyan Land is an amusement park in Brainerd, Minnesota, founded in 1950, which is today located on This Old Farm. Its trademark is the 26-foot-tall (7.9 m) animated and talking statue of Paul Bunyan, weighing 5,000 pounds. As guests enter, Paul welcomes them by name.
Muffler men are large moulded fiberglass sculptures that are placed as advertising icons, roadside attractions, or for decorative purposes, predominantly in the United States. Standing approximately 18–25 ft (5.5–7.6 m) tall, the first figure was a Paul Bunyan character designed to hold an axe. Derivatives of that figure were widely used to hold full-sized car mufflers, tires, or other items promoting various roadside businesses.
Paul Bunyan is a 1958 American animated musical short film produced by Walt Disney Productions. The short was based on the North American folk hero and lumberjack Paul Bunyan and was inspired after meeting with Les Kangas of Paul Bunyan Productions, who gave Disney the idea for the film. The film was directed by Les Clark, a member of Disney's Nine Old Men of core animators. Thurl Ravenscroft starred as the voice of Paul Bunyan. Supporting animators on the project included Lee Hartman.
Since the folkloric hero Paul Bunyan's first major appearance in print, the character has been utilized to promote a variety of products, locations, and services. The giant lumberjack's mass appeal has led him to become a recurring figure in entertainment and marketing, appearing in various incarnations throughout popular culture.
Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan is a 2013 independent horror film produced, written and directed by Gary Jones. It follows a group of juvenile delinquents who unwittingly disturb the legendary Paul Bunyan while embarking on a rehabilitation excursion in the woods, invoking his deadly wrath.
Media related to Paul Bunyan statues at Wikimedia Commons