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The Museum opens for its regular season schedule on
Tuesday, April 2. Days/hours of operation will be: Tuesday thru
Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. The Museum will
be closed on Mondays.
Mark your calendar now for the Grand Opening Events
scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend. Details for this public event
will be provided on the American Giants Museum website:
https://www.americangiantsmuseum.com/.
Activities include the arrival and erection of a 24’
tall Texaco Big Friend giant, one of only six remaining from the
original 300 produced by International Fiberglass Company in the mid
1960s. The Texaco Big Friend will be placed on a 12'x12' concrete
pad on the west side of the American Giants Museum, directly next to
Atlanta's original 1926 alignment of Route 66.
When in place, the Texaco Big Friend will be 7'
taller than the Museum building itself.
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An original Viking Carpet Giant will also arrive in
Atlanta in time to be installed at the American Giants Museum over
the Memorial Day Weekend. The Viking Carpet Giant will stand on a
10'x10' concrete pad on the east side of the American Giants Museum
in the Route 66 Land of the Giants Rest Stop area, where its brother
giant, the Snerd, is already located.
The American Giants Museum tells the story of the
kitschy and quirky “Muffler Man/Bunyan Giant” statues that sprang up
in the 1960s as advertising gimmicks across the USA. Today, they are
some of the most popular sights for tourists traveling Historic
Route 66. The Museum is a partnership between American Giants
expert, Joel Baker, and the Atlanta Betterment Fund organization.
Several years ago, Baker approached the Atlanta
Betterment Fund organization with the idea of creating an American
Giants Museum. Baker’s collection of giants, sales materials, files,
photos, and other documents from International Fiberglass are the
basis for the museum’s exhibits, giving Route 66 tourists the chance
to see, learn about, and interact with what will be the largest
single collection of American Giants anywhere along Route 66.
The Atlanta Betterment Fund worked with the City of Atlanta to add
the American Giants Museum to the community's growing mix of tourist
attractions. It is already drawing people from near and far to
Atlanta, where they can discover our local businesses and artisans,
and contribute to the Atlanta and Logan County economy.
The Atlanta Betterment Fund is a 501 (c)(3) organization,
established in 2008 through private donations and administered by a
board of directors. Its mission is to make Atlanta a better place to
live by supporting its business, civic, and religious organizations.
[Bill Thomas
American Giants Museum] |
