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LA's Statue of Liberty is a 22-Foot Man with a Chicken Head

5dd58b70 52d5 415a 8478 ba9053b33e62 kenzi by • June  1, 2017 • 8 Comments

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If you drive down North Figueroa Street in the Highland Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, you’ll see a giant statue. Right there, up high on a roof—between a Mexican restaurant and a wellness center—is Chicken Boy. You can’t miss him; he presides over the street.

Chicken Boy atop his new home, Future Studios, in Los Angeles.
Chicken Boy atop his new home, Future Studios, in Los Angeles.

Our latest episode of Burnt Toast tells the story of this 22-foot tall fried chicken mascot that became the Statue of Liberty of Los Angeles—and one artist’s decades-long quest to find him a new home.

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It’s a tale of feeling like an outsider in a new city, of car city Los Angeles, and the dwindling era of Googie architecture. By the end, we bet you might want your own chicken boy T-shirt, too. (Find your own here.)

(We were serious!) Here's our producer, Gabrielle Lewis, donning her Chicken Boy merch.
(We were serious!) Here's our producer, Gabrielle Lewis, donning her Chicken Boy merch.

Download the episode here—or stream it below. And hit "subscribe" to get each new episode downloaded to your phone automatically. Read on for photos of Chicken Boy in his original home, his rescue mission, and Amy, the artist who saved him—all of which are detailed in the episode.

Chicken Boy's original home in the 60s, atop Broadway's Chicken Boy Fried Chicken Restaurant.
Chicken Boy's original home in the 60s, atop Broadway's Chicken Boy Fried Chicken Restaurant. Photo by Courtesy of Amy Inouye
The Broadway Chicken Boy again—human with camera for scale.
After Chicken Boy was rescued, he began 23 years of being a...nomad. Here's one of his more memorable stops.
After Chicken Boy was rescued, he began 23 years of being a...nomad. Here's one of his more memorable stops. Photo by Courtesy of Amy Inouye
Mission: Lift Chicken Boy to his new home. (This is taken from the roof of Amy Inouye's studio, Future Studios.)
Mission: Lift Chicken Boy to his new home. (This is taken from the roof of Amy Inouye's studio, Future Studios.) Photo by Courtesy of Amy Inouye
And now comes the head.
And now comes the head. Photo by Courtesy of Amy Inouye
They call him the Statue of Liberty of LA.
They call him the Statue of Liberty of LA.
Amy Inouye, artist and "mother of Chicken Boy," posing lovingly with his 8-foot head.
Amy Inouye, artist and "mother of Chicken Boy," posing lovingly with his 8-foot head.

To learn more about our show, head here.

For listeners ready to make use of the promo code in the episode, it's 20% off your first two orders over $35, with a maximum discount of $30. Terms & conditions apply; see jet.com for details.

Tags: burnt toast, chicken boy, LA, architecture

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