I’d driven by this for three years before it was brought to my attention: a replica of the Statue of Liberty in the parking lot of a small business park in Milwaukee (a city just south of Portland). My husband finally told me about it and pointed it out to me. It took three drive-bys before I actually saw the thing, hidden away behind industrial buildings. And now it is impossible to not see it. It is just so THERE.

I decided that it needed to be pinholed for this blog. So here you go. I did a tiny bit of research on it (because there is no info on the statue itself as to why it is there) and here is what I found on the Roadside America website:

The business owner of the strip mall, where the Statue of Liberty is located, is of Middle Eastern descent. He purchased this statue to show everyone how much he loves America.

Unfortunately, when it was delivered, he broke one of the spires off of her head and then accidentally set her on fire while trying to put her in position. The fire was quickly put out, the spire was reattached, and the 31-ft. beauty was placed on her perch high above “Rent-n-Roll.” With her stand, she is about 50+ feet tall.

There is a small moat of water surrounding her, so I guess she still is on an island. There is also a large eagle in front of her, with a plague proclaiming, “Liberty, Freedom for all nations. Freedom for all people. Let freedom Ring!” [Jody Day, 3/26/2007]

– See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/15118#sthash.40DF0ueP.dpuf

If you happen to find yourself in Milwaukee Oregon and would like to see it, it is located on McLoughlin Blvd. From Portland, take 99E (which turns into McLaughlin). It is located on the right side of the road in front of an auto-repair shop. It is between the intersections of SE Roethe Rd and SE Boardman – Or at least somewhere around there.

These were all shot with my Terrpin Bijou and Fuji Acros 100.