Maine is special for a lot of reasons, but one of them is just how quirky it is. From north to south and east to west there’s always something unique to see. And most of the time these things are totally unexpected. Of these our favorites are the ones that seem to have no rhyme or reason. Like this statue in Bangor!

It might seem strange that there’s a giant Paul Bunyan statue in Maine, but it’s such a cool thing to see that we never really asked any questios.

Globetrotte2125 / TripAdvisor

Some things in Maine are just better off being appreciated without wondering how or why.

Management / TripAdvisor

But, the curious part of us recently won out and we finally did some digging to find out why the world’s largest Paul Bunyan statue found a home in Bangor.

JALToronto / TripAdvisor

The story is actually pretty simple! It dates back to 1959, what would have been the year of Paul’s 125th birthday. To celebrate, a local Bangor committee raised $20,000 to pay a New York fabricator to build it.

Globetrotte2125 / TripAdvisor

But perhaps the most important part of the process was the design, which was done by J. Normand Martin, a local Maine artist.

Amy Meredith / Flickr

Strangely, Martin was only paid $137 for the design, which is something we think Bangor should reevaluate given how popular this Paul Bunyan statue in Maine has become.

Amy Meredith / Flickr

Today, visitors flock to this statue even though Minnesota lays the most believable claim to being the lumberjack’s birthplace.

Dennis Jarvis / Flickr Tomato, tom-ah-to. This roadside attraction is just strange enough for Maine, and quite welcome here!

The Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor is free to visit. It can be found in Bass Park on the west side of Main Street. Have you visited? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Globetrotte2125 / TripAdvisor

Management / TripAdvisor

JALToronto / TripAdvisor

Amy Meredith / Flickr

Dennis Jarvis / Flickr

Tomato, tom-ah-to. This roadside attraction is just strange enough for Maine, and quite welcome here!

If you love the idea of this giant statue, you’ll definitely want to take this quirky road trip to visit Maine’s most unique roadside attractions!

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Address: Paul Bunyan Statue, 519 Main St, Bangor, ME 04401, USA