Roadside Attractions in Minnesota

2 places

Quirky·Douglas County
Big Ole the Viking
Big Ole is a 28 foot fiberglass Viking who stands at the north end of Broadway in Alexandria, Minnesota, his shield lettered with the town's claim: Alexandria, Birthplace of America. The claim rests on the Kensington Runestone, a slab dug up on a farm near Kensington in 1898 carrying a runic inscription that describes a Norse party in the region in 1362. Most scholars regard the carving as nineteenth century work, but Alexandria has kept the stone, and the Viking, ever since.
Quirky·Faribault County
The Jolly Green Giant
The Jolly Green Giant of Blue Earth, Minnesota is 55 and a half feet tall, weighs four tons, wears a size 78 shoe and smiles 48 inches wide. He was the idea of Paul Hedberg, founder of the local radio station KBEW, who watched Interstate 90 bypass the town in the 1970s and wanted a reason for traffic to pull off. Green Giant, whose cannery had packed the town's peas and corn for decades, gave permission but no money, so ten local businesses put up 5,000 dollars each.