The World’s Tallest Uncle Sam – Danbury, Connecticut
Where is the World's Tallest Uncle Sam?
You can find the world’s tallest Uncle Sam in Danbury, Connecticut on the grounds of the Danbury RailWay Museum. The fiberglass giant stands 38 feet tall!
Danbury RailWay Museum
120 White St
Danbury, CT 06810
Sometimes you’re just riding around minding your own business and you accidentally visit the World’s Tallest Uncle Sam. It happens.
“I’m just going to make a pitstop.”
When I say these words to anyone that I’m traveling with, 90% of the time it means that we are going to be taking in some type of attraction. Perhaps it’s a ghost sign, a muffler man, or maybe even a mural. What we’ll see when we arrive is sometimes a mystery, even to me!
On this pitstop occasion in June of 2020, it was to see the World’s Tallest Uncle Sam in the city of Danbury, Connecticut. Wouldn’t you know? He was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from where we were gassing up our motorcycles.
The World’s Tallest Uncle Sam stands 38′ feet tall. His splendid fiberglass form occupies it’s own corner of the parking lot at the Danbury Railway Museum.
Danbury RailWay Museum
120 White St
Danbury, CT 06810
Plaque Reads:
July 2019
“Meet Me at Uncle Sam” spoken by patrons of The Great Danbury State Fair was a common phrase during fair week. Uncle Sam, a symbol of American Might and Democracy comes home.
He is the tallest Uncle Sam statue in the world and returns to Danbury standing as proud as he did at the fair from 1971-1981. His iconic fiberglass figure stands 38 feet tall. Thanks to Mayor Mark Boughton, dedicated city staff and area residents and business, Uncle Sam returns from decades in Lake George back to his forever home in Danbury
The first time that I saw this Uncle Sam was in the town of Lake George, New York in February of 2010. At the time, he was in need of a little TLC.
For years, Uncle Sam stood outside the now-defunct Magic Forest, alongside a bevy of other fiberglass statues. Here he is in 2010 keeping company with a Paul Bunyan Muffler Man, and Santa.
It can be easy to dismiss these types of statues as silly or frivolous. But as the plaque that is now posted in Danbury can attest, they become part of the lexicon of the places we call home. Their relevance or importance to the fabric of our memory may not be realized until the circumstances of life change.
Keep documenting the things that spark joy, friends.
Cool! My thirst for quirky old things is deep and statues like this sate it. Plus, when one’s on the road, boredom can set it so pitstops for attractions have extra appeal.
oops… “set in”