I stumbled upon a wonderful roadside attraction in Auburn yesterday: Ken Fox’s Great Statues. Ken is the creator of the gold miner statue in downtown Auburn, but he also has several other massive concrete figures to his name. Specifically several (mostly) naked collossi just off 49 near In-n-Out.
The statues are unadvertised, which only adds to your initial shock when they loom into view. A few stand in a parking lot of an otherwise ordinary street. The parking lot belongs to the office of the dentist who built the statues, Ken Fox.
I’m sure there are better pictures elsewhere but I had to share my pics of this very offbeat local attraction.
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9 Comments | Leave a comment
Ha! I grew up only about a mile away from those statues, and they’re always the landmark I use when describing where we lived. “Off of Auburn Ravine Road and Mikkelsen — you know, where the naked statues are.” A lady from our church had been a patient of Dr. Fox’s, and he asked her to model for one of the statues back in the ’70s (she didn’t.)
posted 4/29/08 at 2:05 pm #
The gold miner’s name is Claude Chana. He is not only famous for striking it rich near Auburn, but for being a pioneer horticulturalist. He planted peaches and almonds in the 1840’s on the shores of the Bear River.
posted 4/29/08 at 2:08 pm #
What are they looking at? Are they surface-to-air statues?
posted 4/29/08 at 2:31 pm #
They appear to be aiming to kill the very sun that gives us life.
RG were they a wicked hangout spot back in the day?
posted 4/29/08 at 2:59 pm #
There’s a Chinese coolie by the train station too. I love those things.
posted 4/29/08 at 3:32 pm #
Maybe they can hire this guy to replace Atlas, destroyed by a snoozing motorist. A Chinese coolie seems a little odd, without recogizing the contributions of Black slaves, Mexican fieldworkers, Phillipino garment-sewers, etc. Whaddya’ think- a statue of all of the oppressed minorities, holding the white man aloft, who is swiming in his hot-tub, splashing the oppressed while swigging wine, eating lettuce, and wearing fine cotten linens? Ah- I see it now… Muscles trembling in the hot sun, trying to hold up that heavy hot tub with whitey splashing around, enjoying the fruits of others’ labors.
posted 4/29/08 at 4:01 pm #
Wow, someone’s bitter…
posted 4/29/08 at 4:21 pm #
Turty Squip is an angry bitter person… it must suck to be you.
posted 4/29/08 at 8:09 pm #
DMZ, dorky girls like me wouldn’t know where the wicked hangout spot was back in the day, but I think I’m a stronger person because of it.
“I’m good enough; I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!”
posted 4/29/08 at 10:12 pm #
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