Cape Coral's Big John statue damaged by Hurricane Ian but he'll be restored, owner says

He’s shorter than he used to be. His U.S. flag shirt is ripped. And now there’s a metal pole jutting from the top of his head.

But don’t worry, Cape Coral: Big John survived Hurricane Ian.

Cape Realtor Elmer Tabor says he never doubted it for a minute. The beloved downtown statue has lived through four hurricanes now — although Tabor admits Ian was probably the worst of the bunch.

And the damage? That’ll be repaired.

“Big John will be restored,” Tabor says. “No doubt.”

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Big John has been a part of the Cape’s landscape since 1969, when he arrived in the city as part of a Big John Supermarket store. Now the grocery-sack-toting statue stands watch over the downtown shopping center known as Big John’s Plaza on Southeast 47th Terrace.

Tabor, who owns that shopping center, says Hurricane Ian’s winds appear to have twisted the statue’s fiberglass torso and ripped it loose from its metal plates and support poles.

Then the torso dropped down its pole — which broke through the top of Big John’s head — and slid over the figure’s blue-jeaned back end and the top part of its legs.

The result: The 28-foot statue is several feet shorter.

“Now he’s Little John,” joked someone working at the nearby Cigar Bar. The man declined to give his name.

The hurricane also damaged the back of Big John’s U.S. flag shirt and one of his shoes.

But Tabor says he wouldn’t dream of leaving Big John in that condition. People love the guy, and so does he.

“He’s a Cape Coral icon,” Tabor says. “He’s got more history in Cape Coral than most people do.”

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Big John statue in Cape Coral damaged by Hurricane Ian, to be repaired