King Gambrinus
La Crosse, WI
Photo courtesy Dave Pophal

Here's King Gambrinus raising a toast outside the old Heileman brewery in La Crosse, Wisconsin. With his goblet held high and one foot on a barrel, this colorful king certainly looks comfortable with his assignment.

The original concrete figure dates to about 1890 and came from a New Orleans brewery. Heileman purchased it in 1939, bringing the legendary patron of brewing to Wisconsin. After damage and deterioration took their toll, the old statue became the model for a fiberglass replacement, preserving his familiar pose and elaborate costume.

UPDATE: Gambrinus continues greeting visitors outside the brewery property, now associated with City Brewing Company. Nearby, the famous giant six-pack provides another oversized brewing landmark. Apparently, a king needs more than one barrel to keep his kingdom supplied. 07-26

Sunny the Giant Sunfish
Onalaska, WI
Photo courtesy Dave Pophal

What a catch! Sunny the Giant Sunfish overlooks Lake Onalaska in Wisconsin, measuring 15 feet tall and 25 feet long. Fortunately, visitors don't need a fishing license—or a particularly strong rod—to get close to this one.

Completed in 1998, the fiberglass bluegill celebrates Onalaska's claim as the “Sunfish Capital of the World.” Then-mayor Clarence Stellner helped promote the project, and his childhood nickname, Sunny, supplied the fish's name. The colorful sculpture stands along Highway 35, with a lake view that makes its location especially appropriate.

UPDATE: Sunny remains a familiar stop along the Great River Road. The overlook offers room to pause and enjoy Lake Onalaska, while the giant fish continues posing without the usual trouble of keeping a catch still. 07-26

Sinclair Dino
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

Here's a dinosaur that couldn't wait outside. The Sinclair Gas Station at Wisconsin Dells appears to burst through the convenience-store entrance, giving motorists a welcome considerably larger than the usual gas-station mascot. 03-06

Sinclair adopted its dinosaur branding during the 1930s, but this installation takes the familiar green character beyond a figure beside the pumps. Its enormous body becomes part of the building itself. In a town known for oversized attractions, a dinosaur looming over the doorway fits right in.

UPDATE: The giant dinosaur survives at the former Sinclair location, also known as the Dyno Stop, despite changes in fuel branding. Fortunately, the building kept its most memorable feature. A new sign is one thing; finding another place for a dinosaur this size would be quite a project. 07-26

Chatty Belle
Neillsville, WI
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

Here's Chatty Belle in Neillsville, Wisconsin, ready to discuss something besides the weather. Standing 16 feet tall and stretching 20 feet long, this oversized Holstein shares the grounds with Wisconsin's former World's Fair Pavilion. 03-06

Despite a frequently repeated story, Belle wasn't at the 1964–65 New York World's Fair. She arrived in Neillsville in 1967. First-grader Jody Hartl named her through a contest that attracted about 3,000 entries, winning 100 pounds of butter and a dairy tour. That's quite a reward for naming a cow.

UPDATE: Chatty Belle remains beside the pavilion, with her recorded presentation adding another attraction to the stop. The historic building traveled home from the fair, while Belle joined the scene afterward—two different stories sharing one unusual roadside address. 07-26

Gilboa Bull
Gilboa, OH
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Check out the Gilboa Bull beside U.S. 224 in Gilboa, Ohio. This enormous Hereford makes a useful landmark for anyone giving directions. “Turn at the bull” certainly beats trying to remember the nearest street number. 03-07

The figure originally advertised a tavern in Toledo before being moved to Gilboa in the mid-1970s. Installed beside a grain elevator, he became a familiar part of the little community. Local accounts describe an eventful journey, including an encounter with a traffic light—a reminder that moving oversized livestock isn't always easy, even when it's fiberglass.

UPDATE: The bull remains a recognizable roadside landmark in Gilboa. His advertising days in Toledo are long behind him, but he's still doing a fine job of making motorists look twice. 07-26

Water Tower
Circleville, OH
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Here is the pumpkin painted water tower in Circleville, OH. Every autumn for almost 100 years they have held a pumpkin festival here called "The Pumpkin Show" so why not paint the water tower as a gigantic pumpkin, complete with stem? Check out the Circleville Pumpkin Tower as the cars park around it. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 03-07

Circleville's Pumpkin Show began in October 1903, when mayor and waterworks superintendent George Haswell organized a small agricultural display. It grew into a major downtown event featuring giant pumpkins, parades, food, and entertainment. Given the festival's waterworks connection, dressing a water tower for the occasion seems especially fitting.

UPDATE: The pumpkin tower remains a familiar part of Circleville's skyline. The annual Pumpkin Show continues more than a century after its modest beginnings, while the giant orange landmark keeps the town's pumpkin connection visible throughout the year. 07-26

Sterlena the Cow (Closed)
Wauseon, OH
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Here's Sterlena the Cow making a stop in Wauseon, Ohio. Mounted on a trailer, this oversized dairy mascot could travel between stores and community events rather than spending her whole career in one parking lot. 03-07

The 14-foot fiberglass cow was created in the mid-1970s as a parade float for Sterling Milk Company. She promoted stores throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. The company's roots stretched back to 1926, when its founders began buying and selling eggs, cream, and poultry in Wauseon.

UPDATE: Sterlena survived Sterling's closure and found a home at the Fulton County Fairgrounds. Her days as a traveling advertisement helped make her a local favorite, and a historical marker now tells her story. Fortunately, this familiar cow avoided being put out to pasture permanently. 07-26

Campbell's Soup
Napoleon, OH
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Napoleon is the location for the giant can of Campbell's Tomato Soup. This is where it is made and the entire area smells like, you guessed it, tomato soup. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 06-07

The oversized can disguises a water-storage tank used for fire protection, rather than a supply of tomato soup. Napoleon's manufacturing history reaches back to a beverage plant opened in 1938. Campbell acquired the operation in 1948 and added soup production in 1957, making the familiar label a fitting landmark.

UPDATE: The giant soup can remains at the Napoleon plant, visible from outside the industrial property. It continues advertising one of the company's best-known products while quietly performing a much more practical job behind the label. 07-26