Cape Coral's Big John statue is going away soon. But don't worry: He'll be back
Everyone knows him as Big John ― that brawny, grinning, 28-foot-tall giant who stands watch over Cape Coral’s Big John's Plaza.
Things changed after Hurricane Ian, though. Those Category 4 winds twisted and broke the popular statue’s fiberglass-and-steel body, causing his U.S. flag-covered torso to slip down over his blue-jeaned legs. A steel support pole broke through the top of his head.
Now Big John stands at a mere 18 feet or so, says shopping center owner Elmer Tabor. And he’s earned a new nickname, too.
“Everybody’s calling him Little John,” Tabor says and laughs.
Not for much longer, though. Not if plans to repair the beloved statue come to fruition.
Moving and repairing Cape Coral's Big John
If all goes well, a crane and at least one flatbed truck will arrive by the end of August to remove the 6,000-pound Big John and take him to a repair shop for further diagnosis. That time frame could change, though, Tabor says.
He declined to say which shop will be doing the work or whether or not they're local.
“Little John has requested that I don’t disclose any of his personal health information with anybody,” Tabor jokes. “And he further informed me that he does plan on taking an extended rest period to recover and heal before he gets back on the job.”
From there, Tabor isn’t sure what happens next. Maybe they can easily repair Big John at that undisclosed shop. Or they might have to do something more extensive, such as heavy steel work to Big John’s internal framework ― including two steel support poles ―or getting a new fiberglass back made for the statue.
The entire thing could cost as much as $36,000, depending on various factors such as any necessary metal work to the support structure, Tabor says. He hopes insurance will pick up the bill, although some local Big John fans already have offered to help raised money for the project, if necessary.
A part of Cape Coral history
The statue is just too important to tear down or leave in its damaged state, Tabor says.
“He’s part of our history,” he says. “He’s part of Cape Coral.”
Big John has been a part of the Cape’s landscape since 1969, when he arrived in the city with the grocery store Big John's Foodway. Now the grocery-sack-toting statue is an icon and an easy-to-spot landmark on Southeast 47th Terrace.
What to know: 5 things: Big John stands tall in Cape Coral lore
Technically, the shopping plaza is called Cape Coral Town Center. That’s the name Tabor gave it when he bought the place in 1990.
But the new name never caught on.
“Everyone still knows it as Big John’s Plaza,” Tabor says.
Big John is one of 13 original statues made for the Illinois-based Big John's grocery store chain in the '60s, and he’s one of just four left in existence, Tabor says.
How Hurricane Ian damaged Big John
The beloved downtown statue has lived through at least four major hurricanes now — although Tabor admits Ian was probably the worst of the bunch.
The reason for that, he suspects, are the giant shopping bags added to Big John’s arms in about 2010. Those bags ― part of the original statue ― had been in storage for years. Tabor thinks they helped catch Ian’s winds and twist the statue’s fiberglass upper body.
One lucky development: Roadside America ― a website that tracks kitschy roadside attractions like Big John ― called Tabor after Ian with some good news: They'd found a West Virginia farmer who owns the original mold used to make Big John’s fiberglass body.
So they have options if Big John can’t be repaired locally, Tabor says. He hasn’t called that farmer yet, though. He’s waiting to get the statue to the shop to “dissect him” and see how bad things are on the inside.
Tabor says he doesn’t know how long repairs might take or when Big John would return to his pedestal at Big John’s Plaza.
“If we can fix him without having to have a new back made, that’s good,” Tabor says. “But if we have to have a new back made, then we’re at the mercy of how available this farmer is in West Virginia to get it done for us.”
Tabor says it will likely take a big crane and more than one flatbed truck to move Big John. He’s hoping they can easily disassemble the statue on-site, unbolting the two metal plates holding his upper and lower halves together so they can transport each half separately.
If not, they’ll have to lift the whole thing onto a much bigger truck ― maybe the flatbed of a semi.
Read more about Big John on the Roadside America website: roadsideamerica.com/story/11725.
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. For news tips or other entertainment-related matters, call him at 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral's Big John statue, damaged by Ian, leaves soon for repairs
