Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Giant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
Minneapolis, MN
The 1914 Prospect Park water tower is capped by a steep green-tile roof that gave it the nickname Witch's Hat. The surrounding park is public, but the tower interior is normally closed and traditionally opens only for a rare neighborhood event.
Darwin, MN
Francis A. Johnson spent decades winding sisal twine into a 17,400-pound ball, turning obsessive repetition into a famous roadside landmark. The ball is protected inside a glass gazebo, so it remains visible even when the adjacent museum is closed.
Red Wing, MN
Red Wing displays an enormous leather work boot tied to the city's long shoemaking history. The giant footwear is indoors at the company's flagship location, giving travelers an unusual industrial-brand artifact rather than another fiberglass animal.
Olivia, MN
Olivia’s 25-foot fiberglass corn cob stands in Memorial Park as a playful symbol of the community’s official “Corn Capital of the World” identity. The exact installation year is not clearly documented in current reliable sources, but the cob remains an easy public park photo stop along Highway 212.
Belgrade, MN
A huge black crow watches over Belgrade from a landscaped public park. The bird turns the town's Crow River connection into one of central Minnesota's most straightforward giant-animal photo stops.
Eveleth, MN
Eveleth's giant hockey stick and puck celebrate a town deeply tied to the sport and the nearby U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. The supersized equipment turns an ordinary downtown corner into a monumental sports object.
Vergas, MN
Minnesota's state bird becomes a giant lakeside mascot in Vergas, where a huge loon stands in a public park. The sculpture is one of several outsized bird monuments scattered through western Minnesota.
Rothsay, MN
Rothsay's enormous prairie chicken commemorates the bird and the grassland landscape surrounding the town. The statue is intentionally oversized and positioned as a quick roadside stop just off the main route.
Hopkins, MN
Hopkins commemorates its berry-growing past with an enormous raspberry in a downtown public space. The sculpture is an intentionally outsized reminder that the suburb was once closely associated with commercial raspberry production.
Halstad, MN
A giant sugar beet celebrates the crop and processing economy of the Red River Valley. The monument turns an ordinary root crop into a deliberately absurd roadside landmark at the edge of Halstad.
Nevis, MN
Nevis has celebrated its lake country with a giant tiger muskie since 1949. The oversized fish sits in a public setting near the Heartland Trail and gives the tiny community one of Minnesota's oldest giant-fish landmarks.
Frazee, MN
Frazee’s current giant turkey, Big Tom II, was installed on September 19, 1998 after the original statue accidentally burned while workers were removing it. The fiberglass bird stands more than 20 feet tall in Lions Park and remains a free roadside photo stop overlooking the entrance to town.
Rush City, MN
An enormous walleye greets travelers in Rush City, one of several Minnesota towns that have made fishing culture literally larger than life. The sculpture is a simple, routeable roadside stop rather than an indoor attraction.
