Saturday, May 9, 2015

Roadside Attraction/Zippy the Pinhead Location: Big Beaver - Lee, MA

Big Beaver
Lee, MA


N 42° 17.835 W 073° 11.442

Link to Zippy the Pinhead Comic Strip



Short Description: 

The Big Beaver is located on Route 20, parallel to the Massachusetts Turnpike, in Lee, MA




Long Description:

The Big Beaver is the mascot of Beaver Self-Storage, on Route 20 east of Exit 2 on the Mass Pike. The Big Beaver was commissioned in 1967 by Bob Carthy for Beaver Auctions and Appraisals, a family owned business. The work was created by his sister, Susan, who was then creating and successfully showing her hay sculptures.

Originally, the sculpture was simply a chicken wire frame filled with hay, which was placed on display in front of the business. Soon, the hay was spray-painted brown in hopes of halting deterioration.

When the Carty family opened the Beaver Self-Storage business on the property, the sculpture became the mascot. The Big Beaver was covered in concrete and displayed inside the property's fence to avoid vandalism. It remains there, sitting on a wooden farm wagon, for all to see.

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