Bangor’s Big Guy Celebrates Birthday!
Anyone who's ever passed through the Queen City has no doubt seen Bangor's biggest resident, Paul Bunyan, standing tall along Main Street. I mean, it's kind of hard to miss him. Our well-loved, lofty lumberjack turned 189 this week, and has been keeping watch over Bangor's skyline for the last 64 years!
There's a bit of a debate over whether or not Bangor is in fact Bunyan's birthplace, with states like Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin laying claim to that honor.
But if the write-up from the website roadsideamerica.com is accurate, we may just have all the proof we need down at Bangor City Hall:
"And for those who still question Bangor's 'birthplace' claim, Bunyan's birth certificate is on display in the City Clerk's office in City Hall. He was born, according to the official document, on February 12, 1834."
While there may be other Paul Bunyan statues in the U.S., we're pretty confident ours is the tallest. In fact, according to Bangorinfo.com, there are some pretty impressive stats on our sizeable citizen:
"At 31 feet high and 3,700 pounds, the Paul Bunyan statue that greets visitors into Bangor on Main Street was a gift to Bangor on its 125th anniversary as a city in 1959. Designed by J. Normand Martin and built by the Messmoor & Damon firm of New York, the cartoonish fiberglass statue passes on the lore of Paul Bunyan, a mythical lumberman who, according to whom you ask, was born in the deep Maine woods near the Queen City."
Regardless of who owns the right to what part of the story, it cannot be denied that Bunyan has been here long enough to be considered a true Mainer. And he's become so legendary across the world, that he's not just a tall tale, but a destination unto himself, with people from all over the world making it a point to stop, visit, and snap a pic with him when they come to town.
Feel free to help him celebrate this weekend, by taking a moment to check him out yourself. Even after all these years, he's pretty impressive.
Happy Birthday, Big Guy!
Can You Imagine If Paul Bunyan Was On Tinder?
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