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Though skies were cloudy Friday,
June 20, the Viking giant was installed at the American Giants
Museum in Atlanta.
A charter bus full of people from
various countries including China, India and Switzerland was there
to visit the museum and got to see the installation of the giant.
Bill Thomas, the curator of the
museum, shared the story of the Viking giants with the group there.
Originally, Thomas said the Viking giants were used for advertising
Viking Kitchen Carpets.
A plaque with photographs of the
Viking giant through the years tells more of this specific giant’s
story.
This International Fiberglass giant started his journey in Delmar,
Maryland advertising the Viking Kitchen Carpets atop a store there.
Sometime in the 1970s, the Viking was moved to Cristal, Maryland
where his new owner turned him into a Viking/Pirate by fashioning a
makeshift peg leg using part of a telephone pole.
Over the years, the Viking spent time both standing and lying down
due to zoning issues and was grounded in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy
knocked him off his support beam.
Benjamin and Thomas Gabrysiak of New Jersey eventually purchased the
Viking Giant to add to their large Muffler Man collection. They have
most generously loaned him to the American Giants Museum.
The Viking was brought in on a trailer pulled by a truck driven by
members of the [re]Giant Restoration team. The giant was attached to
a large crane to lift it into place.
Video - Viking Giant is
installed at Atlanta's American Giants Museum
Once the crane began lifting up the
Viking, some of the [re]Giant crew had to bolt a piece to the
giant’s back with screws.
The crane then slowly moved the
Viking to his platform right between Snerd (the Half-Wit Giant) and
the recently installed Phillips 66 Cowboy.
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Thomas made sure the crew set
the Viking right in the center of the platform facing the street
just like the other two giants do.
Members of the [re]Giant crew then
worked on bolting the Viking’s large shoes to the pedestal using
drills and hammers.
Finally, the tie downs attaching the Viking to the crane were
removed once he was safely bolted in place.
The plaque with the Viking’s origin story was bolted down in front
of the giant.
American Giants Museum volunteers
Steve and Diane Nalefski said a couple was at the museum Thursday
and recalled seeing the Viking on the roof of the carpet store and
then laying down. They were happy to see what was going to be done
with the Viking.
With the Viking giant, there are now four giants at the American
Giants Museum, including Snerd, the Phillip’s 66 Cowboy and Texaco
Big Friend.
Next year, Thomas said two more
giants will be installed at the museum. One will be a Bemidji Brave
giant and other may be a lumberjack.
When the last two giants are installed outside the American Giants
Museum, all the platforms will have giants on them. 2026 marks the
100th Anniversary of Route 66, so there will likely be a special
event for the installation.
The American Giants Museum, which looks like an old Texaco gas
station, houses other International Fiberglass artifacts and tells
the International Fiberglass and Texaco Big Friends’ stories. The
museum is open Sundays and Tuesdays from 1 pm to 4 pm, Wednesdays,
Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and Thursdays from 10 am to
5 pm. Since the giants are outside, people can come visit them
anytime of the day.
[Angela Reiners] |
