The big fella turns 187 years old this Friday!

The iconic lumberjack character known to all of us as Paul Bunyan, is reported to have been born on February 12th, 1834. His birth certificate is on display in the City Clerk's office in City Hall.

It is kind of funny when you grow up here in Bangor, because it's soemthing that you really take for granted. On a daily basis, I drive down Main Street, and barely throw a glance in his direction. That seems extra crazy, when you consider that people have come from all over the world to visit him, and snap a picture. But then again, I also live right down the street from Stephen King's house on West Broadway, and most days, I also ignore that fact too,

At 31 feet high and 3,700 pounds, the Paul Bunyan statue that greets visitors into Bangor in front of the Cross Insurance Center on Main Street was a gift to Bangor on its 125th anniversary as a city in 1959.

It was designed by J. Normand Martin and built by the Messmoor & Damon firm of New York. The majestic, mythical lumberman, supposedly was born in the deep Maine woods near Bangor. Bunyan and his giant blue ox, Babe, traveled throughout America, creating the Grand Canyon, Puget Sound and the Black Hills.

An advertising copy writer from Westwood, California, named W.B. Laughead introduced Paul Bunyan to the general population. Bunyan was used in pamphlets from 1914 to 1944 to sell products by Red River Lumber Co. of Minnesota.

So celebrate this historic day, this Friday, by taking a trip down the Cross Center and saying hello to Bangor's most famous landmark!

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