Giant Blackbird - Medford, OR - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

This funny looking black bird stands as the icon for the Blackbird Shopping Center in Medford, Oregon. The sixteen foot tall bird stands with each foot on a three foot concrete base. A small plaque on the base under the left foots reads:

IN MEMORY OF LEE HOBBS 1922-1973 DESIGNER & BUIILDER OF THE BLACK BIRD 1964

From the Smithsonian description:

Stylized standing blackbird with arms, legs, broad shoulders and large open beak. The bird has three finger-like talons curled inward on the end of each hand, and two toe-like talons curled upwards at the end of each foot. The feet, beak, and hands are yellow; the eyes are black and white; and the remainder of the bird is black. Each foot stands on a rectangular base.

TITLE: Giant Blackbird ARTIST(S): Lee Hobbs DATE: 1964 MEDIUM: Bird: undetermined material, painted; Base: concrete CONTROL NUMBER: IAS OR000090 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Located Corner of Western Avenue & Main Street, in parking lot, Medford, Oregon DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: • A plaque on the base under the left foot give credit to Lee Hobbs as the designer and builder. • A date on the plaque leads me to believe the build/creation date is around 1964.

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Date Logged Log   11/24/2012 ddtfamily visited it