Chicken Boy

Chicken Boy is a statue located on North Figueroa Street in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles. The 22-foot tall fiberglass statue was recognized by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with the Governor's Historic Preservation Award in 2010.[1]

Chicken Boy

History
Chicken Boy at the original location in July 1977

The statue was originally built in the 1960s for the Chicken Boy Fried Chicken Restaurant, which was located in Downtown Los Angeles on Broadway between 4th and 5th streets, near the Grand Central Market. At that time, International Fiberglass Company of Venice was manufacturing roadside Paul Bunyan and Muffler Man statues for use as outdoor advertising. The Chicken Boy restaurant bought one and hired an artist to customize it. A chicken head was fabricated to replace the man's head. The arms were re-worked to face forward and hold a bucket, rather than an axe. The statue remained in place until 1984 when the restaurant owner died. The statue was eventually given to artist Amy Inouye. She stored it[2] until 2007, when she moved the Chicken Boy statue to its current location at 5558 North Figueroa Street.[3] Her design firm, Future Studio, had relocated to a commercial space that had a reinforced roof strong enough to support the statue. The Chicken Boy statue was preserved as a result of community effort and donated funds.

Awards
  • Governor's Historic Preservation Award, Sacramento, California, 2010.
  • Community Beautification Grant, City of Los Angeles, 2005-2006.
  • California Preservation Foundation, Three Minute Success Story, 2009.
  • Highland Park Heritage Trust Preservation Award, 2009-2010.
  • Commendation, City of Los Angeles, 2009.
  • Commendation, California State Assembly, Sacramento, California, 2010.

References
  1. Erin Richards. "Chicken-Boy Saviors Receive Award". www.nbclosangeles.com.
  2. Inouye, Amy: The True Story of Chicken Boy, Future Studio, Los Angeles, 2010.
  3. Rodriguez, Gregory: "Op-Ed", Los Angeles Times, "Chicken Boy Lives," March 14, 2011

Further reading
  • Ankrom, Richard (April 2007). "Art. Stuff. Chicken". Coagula Art Journal. #85
  • Kim Kabar (Jan/Feb 2012). "Men at Work". Westways Magazine.
  • Lovett, Anthony and Matt Maranian, L.A. Bizarro: The All-New Insider's Guide to the Obscure, the Absurd, and the Perverse in Los Angeles, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, September 2009.
  • McFadden, Cyra: "Catalog-weary flock to Chicken Boy," San Francisco Examiner (National edition), Sunday, Nov. 19, 1989.
  • Parks-Ramage, Jonathan (August 7, 2016). "One Woman's Fight to Save a 22-Foot-Tall Fiberglass Chicken". Vice.


34.10848°N 118.1942°W / 34.10848; -118.1942

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