Travel Tips

Quirky Statues Around the World

Locations in this article:  Detroit, MI Los Angeles, CA Philadelphia, PA

There are many different types of tourists out there. Some like churches. Some like beaches. Some are just attracted to the quirky and eccentric oddities that make this world worth traveling in the first place. While commemorative statues have been a civic staple since antiquity, it’s only in the past 30 years that the ironic and wacky twists on this ancient concept have begun to proliferate all over the world. Below you will find a few examples to start your global treasure hunt for the world’s strangest dedications in stone and bronze.

The Braveheart Statue

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The National Wallace Monument in Scotland is a sight to behold. The tower commemorates the feats of famed Scottish freedom fighter Sir William Wallace —and by association, the actor who played him, Mel Gibson. Sculptor Tom Church watched Braveheart in 1995 while recovering from a heart operation, concluded he must make a statue of Mel Gibson’s depiction. In 1997, the statue was officially placed on the monument’s grounds where it evoked mixed emotions. It was loved by some, but a lot of people hated Church’s creation enough to vandalize it, which resulted in the erection of a security fence. Finally, after a decade of defacement, the statue was removed in 2008.

Detroit Needs a Statue of Robocop

ROBOCOP (1)

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons user GabboT

Part man, part machine, all ridiculous. The 1987 film Robocop follows a cyborg cop in Detroit who fights crime and corruption. The film is a cult classic and after a very popular kickstarter campaign, plans were set in motion to build a statue of the Detroit hero to put on display at Wayne State University’s TechTown Campus.

Adrian!

iamNigelMorris

Image Credit: Flickr user iamNigelMorris

The Rocky Statue was originally constructed as a set piece for the movie Rocky III, and after filming wrapped, Sylvester Stallone kindly donated the statue of himself to the City of Philadelphia. The bronze homage to boxing’s most famous celluloid character is now at the bottom of the Philadelphia Museum of Art stairs, where sweatsuits and shadowboxing are both permitted and encouraged.

The Headington Shark

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Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons User ceridwen

When looking at a giant shark smashed through a roof, who doesn’t think of nuclear proliferation? American artist Bill Heine installed the 25-foot-long creation at his home in Oxford, England in 1986. Despite multiple attempts by the city council to have it taken down, the statue has remained. When pressed to explain his project, Heine remarked, “It is saying something about CND, nuclear power, Chernobyl and Nagasaki.” Isn’t it obvious?

Corporate Head

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Image Credit: Flickr user Michael Weekes Jr.

The cutthroat American business environment sometimes makes you want to bash your head into a wall. In 1990, artist Terry Allen and poet Phillip Levine immortalized that feeling with a statue of a disgruntled businessman bowing into the wall of the Ernst & Young building in downtown Los Angeles, his entire head sunk into the concrete. A poem on the ground —which forces a bit of leaning itself— reads:

“They said
I had a head
for business.
They said
to get ahead
I had to lose
my head.
They said
be concrete
& I became
concrete.
They said
go, my son,
multiply,
divide, conquer.
I did my best.”

Sacrificing it all for the big time —an LA staple.

Want to see more ways you can combine pop culture and travel? Check out:

By Cody Brooks for PeterGreenberg.com