Weird California - By Joe Parzanese

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Giant Chickens

International Fiberglass is perhaps best known here as the company that made the Muffler Men that stand guard on our highways, but they also built other fiberglass statues, such as the well known Sinclair Dinosaurs, and the less known, but oh so awesome, giant rooster! At 8 feet tall, 3 feet wide, 5 1/2 feet long and weighing in at 100 pounds of fiberglass, these colorful fowl often could be found standing on top or outside chicken stores throughout the country.

So when my sister informed me that she had seen a giant chicken near Nipomo, it raised my curiosity. On my way home from my sister's house, I caught the large bird, actually a rooster, outside Windmill Farms in Arroyo Grande, perched on a flat bed old style truck, viewable off of Highway 101, standing proud for passing motorists to see.

International Fiberglass specifically targeted chicken restaurants for the big birds, and advertised them as "Something to Crow About . . . this Gigantic Rooster. Whether mounted high on the rooftop, at ground level, or wherever, this giant sales booster is an effective display that can be seen for blocks around."

Presented here are more views of the giant rooster from a few different angles. These three pictures are from the Arroyo Grande bird.

At the time I thought there were only four of these massive birds in California (one in the hills near Jackson, one in someone's side yard in Lockeford, and one on top of a building in Los Angeles). But as it turns out there are easily at least 20, and probably more than 30 of these birds lurking in California, including a full on infestation down in Los Angeles!

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County has the highest concentration of roosters in the state, perhaps even the world. Due probably to the proximity of International Fiberglass's headquarters formerly in Venice, California, the entire county plays host to about twelve giant roosters. Six of those can be found just in the city of Los Angeles. We've managed to grab pictures of the one on Whittier Boulevard, the one on E. Washington Boulevard, a hasty picture of the one on N. Virgil, and the bird in Chinatown.

At least five other cities in Los Angeles County also play host to a giant rooster (and we've managed to get pictures of many of them!): La Puente, Pomona, San Pedro, Sylmar, Tarzana, and formerly Compton. I have heard rumors that Compton's giant rooster is no longer there as of 2016. It was formerly outside Poultry Firas Farms. La Puente's giant rooster is outside Bob's Burgers, and is in great condition, the last time I visited.

San Pedro's giant rooster is outside Slavko's Harbor Poultry, and is also in really good condition. Tarzana's rooster is outside Red Barn Feed and Saddlery. There are also two giant bears there that you can sit in and take pictures with. You can see more info on the Pomona rooster down below in the entry on Donahoo's Golden Chicken.

Chinatown

Yet another giant chicken in Los Angeles, located on North Broadway in Chinatown is Superior Poultry and they too have a giant rooster on their roof! It's your standard white bird, with the typical paint job of so many other Giant Roosters in the city. Special thanks to Katie Peña for one of the pictures of the rooster in Chinatown!

Sylmar and Tarzana

The Sylmar giant rooster is outside Best Live Poultry. It hangs out on a wooden platform to the left of a dumpster out front. There are also chicken and fish drawings on and above the door of the business. The rooster could use a paint refresh and there's some cracks in the bird's breast. But it is in a pretty good position for a photo op!

The Tarzana giant rooster is located at Red Barn Feed and Pet, an all red, rather large business. It is located up high on an overhang to the left of the main entrance. The main entrance is also flanked by two giant bears, one a brown bear, one a polar bear. You can sit on their right paws if you wish. Above the main entrance is a large mural of pigs and goats hanging out in a barn like setting.

Orange County

Next door to Los Angeles County, Orange County adds an additional seven giant roosters, with four (yes, four) all white roosters residing at the Anaheim Packing House, one in Newport Beach, one in Midway City, and one in Buena Park. We've managed to collect pictures of the giant chickens in Midway City, Newport Beach, and Anaheim. The one in Newport Beach isn't alone though. If having a giant rooster live on your house isn't enough, the rooster in Newport Beach is surrounded by an entire crew of pirates too!

Pirates and their Pet Chicken!

In Newport Beach, one of the giant roosters brought along an entire ship's crew of pirates! There's a whole bunch of pirates swarming all over this house just like in Disney's Pirate's of the Caribbean; there's even a Captain Jack Sparrow. The pirates are in the middle of various pirate acts ranging from swinging down from the balconies to drinking various forms of alcohol. In addition to all the pirates, there is a Native American and a cowboy, a hunchback, some skeletons, the Statue of Liberty, a few animals and perched on the corner of the roof, a giant pinkish rooster! Yes the giant pinkish rooster is one of International Fiberglass's giant roosters, painted red and pink. Parking is a bit difficult in the area, but you can walk right up to many of the statues and pose for pictures with them.

Anaheim Packing House

The Anaheim Packing House is a giant 42,000 square foot food court located in Anaheim. Built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, it is a former Sunkist packing house, dating back to 1919 and the building has been put on the National Register of Historic Places.

Open since May 31, 2014, there are two all white giant roosters flanking the entrance off of South Claudina Street. They stand to either side of a small flight of stairs that climb up from the patio off of Claudina Street to the entrance doors. There are two more all white roosters lurking just inside the main entrance across from valet parking, flanking the entrance doors.

Donahoo's Golden Chicken (Pomona and Riverside)

Donahoo's Golden Chicken - There are three of these chicken restaurants, one in Pomona, the second in Riverside, and a third chicken-less one in Ontario. They are to-go places where you get your food as take out. The chickens and the stores have seen better days. In the Pomona case, the chicken has faded considerably, while in the Riverside area, graffiti has been drawn on the rooster. The Ontario location is missing a giant chicken.

San Bernardino

There are three places with giant roosters in the San Bernardino area. The first is All Pet Feed and Tack, which not only has a giant rooster outside its front door, but also a fiberglass cow and horse. The second is the Screaming Chicken Saloon, which looks closed and has a giant rooster on its roof. Its window proudly proclaims "Hot Babes, Cold Beer". The third location is the headquarters for the chicken restaurant, Juan Pollo. This location also happens to be the site of the first McDonalds and now hosts a small museum filled with McDonalds memorabilia!

Mentone

Mentone just isn't home to a giant rooster, but also a Bunyan style Muffler Man and the giant head of the Statue of Liberty! Located all on the same property along with various signs and other "decorations", the area proclaims itself the Mentone Beach or the Republic of Mentone.

The Sheriff of Pollardville

On the outskirts of Stockton, the ghost town of Pollardville use to entertain travelers. Pollardville opened in 1944 and relocated near Highway 99 in 1957. It sadly closed on April 1st, 2007. Pollardville was a touristy "ghost town" that started as a chicken restaurant. As the attraction grew, it added the Pollardville Palace Saloon, the Jamestown Jail, two historic buildings, parts of the movie set from the 1958 movie: The Big Country, and even a train you could buy tickets for and ride.

When it closed it was advertised by a tall sign topped by a giant chicken wearing a hat. The sign had a flashing light up arrow, pointing down, and proudly proclaimed "Best Chicken in the Country". The entire sign straddled a locomotive.

There was a second giant chicken on site hanging out in the ghost town. This chicken also wore a hat, along with a vest, spurs, and even carried a gun and sheriff's badge. The Sheriff of Pollardville was the mascot of the ghost town.

Sadly on April 13th, 2010, after having been closed for three years, Pollardville was demolished. All that remains at the former site, as of May 2015 is the remnants of the tall sign that stood outside the ghost town. But luckily the Sheriff of Pollardville survived and can now be found in Lockefort.

Yes, the hat wearing, gun toting, giant chicken stands on the north side of Main Street in Lockeford. It stands in the private yard of Lisa Pollard, the daughter of the owners of Pollardville. Luckily it can easily be seen from the street and it is in good condition. There is a white fence in the front of the property and you can easily stand on the sidewalk before the fence, see and take pictures of the giant chicken. A decent sized sausage selling cow is across the street and about a half block down. Supposedly the chicken from on top of the tower sign was put into storage by Neil Pollard, Lisa's father and former owner of Pollardville.

Morgan Hill

South of San Jose, along Monterey Road in Morgan Hill is Advanced Trucks, Inc, and they have their very own giant chicken! Unfortunately, it's behind a gate, which makes taking pictures of it a little difficult. However, if you're in the Bay Area this appears to be the closest giant chicken to you. Whereas Los Angeles has several giant chickens, the Bay Area sadly does not.

Banning

The Farm House in Banning, located northwest of Palm Springs along Interstate 10, has yet another giant rooster! Pretty much a classic rooster design with the exception of the patriotic red, white, and blue wings, the giant rooster stands in the parking lot in front of the bright all red barn like building that houses the Farm House Restaurant.

The rooster is named Rollie, as shown by its name plate, and behind it is an old wooden wagon. The wings have a red and white striped pattern on the lower part with the upper wing featuring blue with a white star.

San Diego - The Crack Shack

Welcome to the Crack Shack in San Diego, a chicken restaurant with yes, a giant fiberglass rooster outside. The Crack Shack serves up mostly chicken, chicken prepared with their "crack spice" which is a "proprietary blend of spices that gives [their] fare a certain je ne sais 'squawk' for sumptuous delight".

The giant rooster is in excellent condition to the left of the patio dining area. To the left of the giant rooster is a bocce ball court (the restaurant is located in San Diego's Little Italy after all). The bocce ball court has a sign posted to "Watch your chicks for any fowl play". In addition to those bad puns, behind the bocce ball court is a large picture of the Beatles 1969 Abbey Road cover ... with all the Beatles heads replaced with chicken heads! Thus adding new meaning to why did the chicken cross the road.

Escondido - Hawthorne Country Store

There's a very patriotic bird in Escondido, hanging outside Hawthorne Country Store. His body is blue with white stars and his tail feathers are done up red. Note, he is on a plastic base, so I have a feeling he might be brought inside when the location is closed.

Ventura, California

We've also managed to get pictures of the giant rooster in Ventura located on top of Bodacious BBQ.

Nevada

Additionally there are two giant chickens in Nevada. We stumbled, completely by accident, upon one on top of a bar called fittingly enough the Red Rooster in Overton, Nevada. Another restaurant in Las Vegas, part of the Crack Shack chain, also has a giant rooster located outside its entrance.

Hesperia - Mainstreet Collectors

Hesperia plays home to Mainstreet Collectors which amongst other items, sells and restores giant fiberglass statues! The business has been around for over twenty years and sells fiberglass animals ranging from cows to pigs and, of course, giant roosters! They also have a Bob's Big Boy knock off called Boom-A-Rang Boy on their website. They ship all around the world, and I'm all in favor of more giant fiberglass statues being out there!

And Many Many More . . .

But there are still way more giant birds out there to discover! So now, I hereby declare a great Chicken hunt! If you're near by any of the other giant chickens, I'd really appreciate any pictures that I could use here. I, of course, give full credit for the pictures, and watermark them with your name as well.

List of locations for possible giant fowl include the below. Please note, I haven't visited all these locations, so I don't know if the chicken is still there or not. You can, however, see almost all of them on Google Maps. For the ones that I have visited, you can click on their name for more pictures.

• Anaheim Packing House - 440 South Anaheim Boulevard, Anaheim, California 92805 (at least two solid white roosters are located here)
• Windmill Farms - 1275 North Thompson Avenue, Arroyo Grande, California 93420
• The Farm House Restaurant - 6261 Joshua Palmer Way, Banning, California 92220
• BP Grill - 6550 Knott Ave, Buena Park, CA 90621
• Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant - 8039 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park, California 90620
• Chevron Gas Station - 809 Market St, Colusa, California 95932
• Poultry Firas Farms (Closed) - 15607 Atlantic Avenue, Compton, California 90221
• Tom's Farms - 23900 Temescal Canyon Rd, Corona, California 92883
• 1454 CA-86, El Centro, California 92243 - there's a rooster at a private residence
• Hawthorne Country Store - 675 West Grand Avenue, Escondido, California 92025
• Larry's Produce - 4606 Suisun Valley Road, Fairfield, California 94534 (possibly open seasonal)
• Alpine State Highway, Jackson, California 95642
• Poor Man's Bronze - 824 California 88, Jackson, California 95642
• Primo's Liquor and Deli - 13435 Sierra Way, Kernville, California 93238 - location has two giant chickens
• Bob's Burgers - 14952 Valley Boulevard, La Puente, California 91746
• The Sheriff of Pollardville - 13325 California 88, Lockeford, California 95237
• Al Salam Polleria - 3980 Whittier Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90023
• Imperial Poultry - 821 East Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90021
• LA Fresh Poultry - 121 North Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90004
• Matador Poultry - 7201 South Alameda Street, Los Angeles, California 90001
• Morsy Farm - 6900 South Central Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90001
• Superior Poultry - 750 North Broadway, Los Angeles, California 90032
• 1947 Garnet Street, Mentone, California 92359 (With a Muffler Man and a Giant Statue of Liberty Head)
• Baladi Poultry - 8261 Bolsa Avenue, Midway City, California 92655
• Advanced Trucks, Inc - 10900 Monterey Rd, Morgan Hill, California 95037
• Wilson's Feed and Supply - 1700 Yajome Street, Napa, California 94559
• 3412 Marcus Ave Newport Beach, California 92663 (residential house covered in pirates and other statues)
• Van Nuys Live and Fresh Poultry - 14547 Arminta Street E, Panorama City, California 91402
• Donahoo's Golden Chicken - 1074 North Garey Avenue, Pomona, California 91767
• Donahoo's Golden Chicken - 5749 Mission Boulevard, Riverside, California 92509
• All Pet Feed & Tack - 25598 Base Line Road, San Bernardino, California 92410
• Juan Pollo Headquarters (Also Location of the First McDonald's) - 1398 North E Street, San Bernardino, California 92405
• Screaming Chicken Saloon - 18169 Cajon Boulevard, San Bernardino, California 92407
• The Crack Shack - 2266 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego, California 92101
• Slavko's Harbor Poultry - 1224 South Pacific Avenue, San Pedro, California 90731
• Best Live Poultry and Fish - 12253 Foothill Boulevard, Sylmar, California 91342
• Red Barn Feed and Saddlery - 18601 Oxnard Street, Tarzana, California 91356
• Banducci Road, Tehachapi, California (possibly formerly from Jack Palance's estate)
• Marshall's Bodacious BBQ - 6353 Ventura Boulevard, Ventura, California 93003
• Vidal Junction Cafe - Vidal Junction, California 92280 (at least two giant chickens)
• Sky Village Outdoor Market Place - 7028 Theater Road, Yucca Valley, California 92284 (also home to Bob Carr's Crystal Cave!)

Comments:

• ed of Escondidoon 2016-10-06 said:
  There's a big fiberglass cock on display at Hawthorne Feed in Escondido on Valley Parkway.

• Charles of Sonora , California on 2014-05-02 said:
  Link to some more Giant Chickens. Also one is located at Poor Man's Bronze in Jackson CA. http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120610/A_NEWS0803/206100313

First Created: 2014-04-21
Last Edited: 2021-09-11