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.
Portland, ME
An eight-foot steel pine cone stands in Deering Oaks Park, but its overlapping scales are actually made from roughly 140 recycled shovel heads. The transformation is obvious only when viewed closely, making the sculpture a good quick OddWay reveal.
Searsport, ME
A dead roadside tree outside the Yardarm Motel was transformed in 2025 into an approximately 20-foot carving of Poseidon by artist Josh Landry. The sea god rises from the trunk holding a trident, creating a particularly fitting giant figure along Maine’s coast.
Alexander, ME
More than two dozen large hand-carved wooden sculptures line a trail through the woods in rural Washington County. The privately created but visitor-friendly outdoor collection includes human figures, animals, and imaginative forms carved primarily from local trees.
Fort Kent, ME
A monument in Fort Kent marks the northern beginning of U.S. Route 1, the highway that runs from northern Maine to Key West, Florida. It is a clean geographic bookend stop for anyone traveling the far northern reaches of the state.
Brunswick, ME
Built in 1892 by John A. Roebling’s Sons, the company associated with the Brooklyn Bridge, this pedestrian suspension bridge crosses the Androscoggin River between Brunswick and Topsham. Locals call it the Swinging Bridge because the narrow span noticeably moves beneath walkers.
Harpswell, ME
This unusual bridge is built from massive granite blocks stacked in an open crib-like pattern instead of a conventional solid foundation. Gaps between the stones allow tides to flow through while the heavy granite keeps the structure anchored between Bailey and Orr’s islands.
Bath, ME
An authentic Japanese torii gate stands unexpectedly on Bath’s waterfront as a symbol of the city’s relationship with Tsugaru, Japan. The connection grew from the 1889 rescue of shipwrecked American sailors from a Bath-built vessel off the Japanese coast.
Eastport, ME
A cliff and rock profile across the water resembles the head of a bear when viewed from the right angle. This coordinate is a practical public viewing area on the Eastport waterfront rather than a claim that the pin sits directly on the rock formation itself.
Kittery, ME
A roughly 12-foot-tall easy chair with a fiberglass shell sits beside Government Street in Kittery. Vandals destroyed the original oversized chair in 2011, but the community rebuilt it the following year, preserving one of southern Maine’s simplest and most photogenic giant-object stops.
Houlton, ME
A statue of a boy holding a leaking boot has stood in Houlton for more than a century as one of many versions of the once-popular “Boy and the Boot” fountain design. The Houlton figure is traditionally removed or protected during the harshest part of winter, so visibility can be seasonal.
Mount Desert, ME
A giant glacial boulder appears to balance precariously near the edge of South Bubble Mountain in Acadia National Park. The rock was carried and deposited by ancient ice, leaving it looking as though a small push could send it over the cliff.
Boothbay Harbor, ME
A roughly 25-foot fiberglass fisherman has watched over Brown’s Wharf since the late 1960s. The oversized old salt, complete with rain gear and pipe, is one of the classic giant figures of Maine roadside culture.
Saint George, ME
A roughly 16-foot granite monument topped by a monkey blowing a horn stands on private property and announces this patch of Maine as the “Center of the Universe.” It is an eccentric roadside-art stop; view it from the public road and do not enter the property.
Newcastle, ME
A historic stone fish ladder climbs from the Damariscotta River system toward Damariscotta Lake, allowing enormous runs of alewives to bypass the old mill site. During the spring migration, thousands of fish can crowd the narrow channel at once, turning a piece of practical infrastructure into a strange natural spectacle.
Freeport, ME
A broad expanse of exposed glacial sand sits unexpectedly among the forests of Freeport, creating one of Maine’s strangest landscapes. Despite the name, it is not a true climatic desert; the unusual sand deposit became a long-running roadside attraction.
Ellsworth, ME
Hidden inside Finn’s is an original 1930s Jerry O’Mahony dining car, complete with its compact metal structure, counter, stools, and distinctive interior details. The modern restaurant was effectively built around the old diner, leaving a historic structure embedded inside another building.
Edgecomb, ME
Built in 1808–09 to defend the busy port of Wiscasset, Fort Edgecomb is dominated by an unusual two-story octagonal wooden blockhouse. The rare structure survives as a state historic site overlooking the Sheepscot River and is among Maine’s most distinctive early coastal defenses.
Kittery, ME
Fortifications have guarded this bluff above the Piscataqua River for centuries, although the site saw remarkably little actual combat. Surviving earthworks, granite structures, and the distinctive blockhouse create a layered military ruin spanning multiple periods of American history.
Freeport, ME
Instead of a standard fast-food building, this McDonald’s occupies the historic mid-1800s Gore House near downtown Freeport. Local design restrictions helped preserve the mansion-like exterior, producing one of the chain’s strangest-looking locations.
Freeport, ME
A huge version of L.L.Bean’s signature Maine Hunting Shoe stands outside the company’s flagship complex in Freeport. It is a simple but iconic oversized-object stop that works well as a quick route detour.
Boothbay, ME
Five enormous wooden trolls created by artist Thomas Dambo are hidden along trails at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. The sculptures form the “Guardians of the Seeds” installation and turn a garden hike into a giant-creature scavenger hunt.
Bowdoin College Grant East Township, ME
Nicknamed the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” Gulf Hagas is a remote slate gorge filled with waterfalls, narrow rock walls, old-growth forest, and dramatic drops along the West Branch of the Pleasant River. Reaching the best features requires a substantial wilderness hike with no reliable cell service.
Belfast, ME
A life-size elephant named Hawthorne II has stood above the Colonial Theatre since 1997, staring down over downtown Belfast from the roof and marquee area. The elephant originally came from Perry’s Nut House and became one of the theater’s most recognizable eccentric features.
Cushing, ME
The former home and studio property of Maine sculptor Bernard Langlais is filled with his large, rough-hewn wooden and outdoor artworks. Visitors can walk through an unusual landscape where the art, workshop, fields, and forest all blend together.
