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MerryBlooms

(11,770 posts)
Thu Feb 18, 2016, 07:09 PM Feb 2016

43 Giant U.S. President Statues Sit Crumbling in a Virginia Field

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It’s a rather bizarre sight—43 giant, crumbling presidential heads sitting in a field in Virginia. The ghosts of presidents past stand out from between the tall weeds that grow on Howard Hankins' farm, their iconic faces deteriorating slowly over time. The sculptures were collected from the now-unused open air museum named Presidents Park, opened in 2004 by local entrepreneur Everette “Haley” Newman and the sculptor behind the intriguing presidential busts, David Adickes. However, their vision was not meant to be and the park, which cost about $10 million to create, was closed in 2010 due to lack of visitors.

Local land owner Hankins was asked to destroy the 18- to 20-foot-high busts after the closure of the museum, but he came up with a different solution, offering instead to move the heads to his farm. This was no easy task—the massive busts, each weighing 11,000 to 20,000 pounds, now had to be moved to a field 10 miles away. During the process, the busts sustained some damage—as they were lifted by crane, the necks of the sculptures were cracked off and the improvised moving process caused significant injury to each of the mighty figures. Abraham Lincoln now stands with a hole in his skull, eerily reminiscent of his assassination wound, and George Washington looks on into the distance, with what appears to be tears dripping down his face.

The proud busts now decay in rows on Hankins' farm, crumbling and cracking as time continues to wear on the famous figures. This series of images was captured by photographer Patrick Joust on a trek out to the field, where he explored the resting grounds of the eroding presidents.

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/presidents-park-massive-heads
14 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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43 Giant U.S. President Statues Sit Crumbling in a Virginia Field (Original Post) MerryBlooms Feb 2016 OP
Busted! RobertEarl Feb 2016 #1
You got here first so OriginalGeek Feb 2016 #2
Thanks for the heads-up pinboy3niner Feb 2016 #3
... SamKnause Feb 2016 #4
Headed for Easter Island? postulater Feb 2016 #5
Ten tons is 20,000 lbs, largest bust size cited. PufPuf23 Feb 2016 #6
But it's aliens Reter Feb 2016 #7
I thought you would say that! PufPuf23 Feb 2016 #9
If they are going to destroy them anyway, can I have FDR? Reter Feb 2016 #8
Takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Hankins' fritters. Gidney N Cloyd Feb 2016 #10
What should be done with the statue of Shrub? roamer65 Feb 2016 #11
I was there not too long ago justiceischeap Feb 2016 #12
Amazing photos. I might head over there too. L. Coyote Feb 2016 #14
I'm guessing there are actually only 42 Jim Lane Feb 2016 #13

PufPuf23

(8,791 posts)
6. Ten tons is 20,000 lbs, largest bust size cited.
Thu Feb 18, 2016, 09:52 PM
Feb 2016

Ancient people, mostly in the Middle East and Central and South America, quarried and moved stone megaliths between 200 and 1000 tons, sometimes then set in place with amazing precision.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_monoliths_in_the_world

I am not suggesting aliens.

L. Coyote

(51,129 posts)
14. Amazing photos. I might head over there too.
Fri Feb 19, 2016, 01:49 AM
Feb 2016

Not really, just couldn't resist busting out another head pun.

 

Jim Lane

(11,175 posts)
13. I'm guessing there are actually only 42
Fri Feb 19, 2016, 01:31 AM
Feb 2016

Only a real pedant would have carved a second huge bust of Cleveland just to recognize his nonconsecutive terms.

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