Ballerina Clown
Venice, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Look up at Main Street and Rose Avenue for a performance by the Ballerina Clown. Wearing a tutu, ballet slippers, and a rather unmistakable clown face, this Venice resident certainly knows how to attract attention. Not the usual figure expected above a storefront.
Created by Jonathan Borofsky and installed in 1989, the roughly 30-foot sculpture became a familiar landmark on the Venice Renaissance building. Its combination of ballet and clowning fits comfortably into a neighborhood where unusual sights have never been in short supply.
The figure was also built to move, with a motorized leg adding a slow kick to the performance. Even standing still, there's plenty here to make pedestrians pause and motorists take another look.
UPDATE: The Ballerina Clown remains a Venice landmark at Main and Rose. Decades after its arrival, this oversized performer still gives the corner a personality all its own. 10-26
Toys R Us (Removed)
Rosemead, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here’s Geoffrey the Giraffe standing guard over Toys R Us in Rosemead. For children riding along the San Bernardino Freeway, spotting this familiar character could lead to an immediate request for a shopping stop. Apparently, being visible from the road was all the advertising assistance he needed. 04-06
The oversized mascot gave the toy store a landmark beyond its lettering. Before online wish lists, there was something about seeing Geoffrey outside a building filled with toys that made the place seem worth investigating.
The store later closed, Geoffrey was removed, and Levitz Furniture took over. A considerably different shopping trip awaited anyone returning to the old toy-store location. Levitz subsequently closed as well, leaving another chapter in the building’s retail history.
UPDATE: The Levitz Furniture store has been closed for a few years and the large building off the I-10 remains vacant. 01-11
UPDATE: The former Toys R Us and Levitz location at 8920 Glendon Way later became UFC GYM Rosemead. Geoffrey’s roadside assignment had ended, but the property found another use after its furniture-store days. 10-26
Steak Corral
Whittier, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Say howdy to the cowboy outside Steak Corral in Whittier. With his oversized hat and cheerful expression, this fellow has long helped advertise a place to round up dinner. The steak at the end of his lariat made the assignment especially clear.
The Whittier restaurant opened in 1965 as part of a Southern California steakhouse chain. Known as the Corral Kid, the mascot fit right in with the restaurant’s covered-wagon imagery and western theme. Even a reasonably priced steak dinner could come with a little roadside showmanship.
This location stands on Washington Boulevard, where the restaurant’s ranch-style appearance recalls an era when themed dining didn't require a theme park. The cowboy became as much a part of the visit as the meal inside.
UPDATE: This little guy lost his steak. Wonder if it will ever return. 02-13
UPDATE: Steak Corral remains open in Whittier. He has had a rope lasso for the past several years and the steak he's holding never returned. 10-26
A&W Mascot
29 Palms, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
Check out this roadside greeter in Twentynine Palms, carrying a hamburger and a mug large enough to handle a serious thirst. The A&W Mascot appears to have found another assignment outside a Mexican restaurant. A change of menu apparently didn't require a change of employee. 01-03
The figure resembles Mama Burger from A&W’s Burger Family, the human characters once used to advertise the chain’s different hamburger sizes. These figures belonged to a different advertising family from the later root beer bear.
Her oversized refreshments still tell motorists that something to eat and drink might be nearby. Whether the restaurant serves the meal she's carrying is another question, but the familiar pose makes her worth a second look on a desert drive.
UPDATE: This photograph records the figure’s second career as a Twentynine Palms restaurant greeter. The specific restaurant identification and the statue’s later whereabouts remain unconfirmed. 10-26
Carl's Acres of Trailers (Closed)
Ontario, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Standing well above the roadside, the cowboy sign for Carl’s Acres of Trailers in Ontario certainly didn't believe in a quiet introduction. With a large figure perched over the business lettering, this was a trailer-lot salesman who could attract attention without leaving his post.
The sign stands along West Mission Boulevard, rather than Holt Boulevard. Its western character belongs to a design associated with Bonanza Homes, a mobile-home dealership chain, which helps explain why similar cowboys have turned up elsewhere. Carl apparently had relatives in the advertising business.
The upper portion originally revolved above the cowboy’s waist, adding movement to an already hard-to-miss display. A tall sign was useful along a busy boulevard, but a turning cowboy gave passing drivers another reason to remember the lot.
UPDATE: The sign survives with lettering for Stellar Trailers, following an intervening stint advertising Custom RV Sales. The businesses have changed, but this Ontario cowboy has managed to keep his roadside position. 10-26
Steak Corral
A&W Mascot
Carl's Acres of Trailers (Closed)
