Weird California - By Joe Parzanese
World's Largest Totem Pole
Central Ave at City Center Road,
McKinleyville, California
95519
(McKinleyville Shopping Center)
Carved from a single 500 year old redwood, the World's Largest Totem Pole stands 160 feet tall and weighs 57,000 pounds. The base that holds it up clocks in at 214,000 pounds. Designed in 1962 by Ernest Pierson it was erected to celebrate the opening of the McKinleyville Shopping Center.
Comments:
- Jack Durham of McKinleyville, CA on 2011-04-14 said:
- When viewing the McKinleyville Totem Pole, you get to admire the work of two artists – Ernest Pierson, who carved the pole, and Duane Flatmo, who repainted the pole in 1998-99. Flatmo is a Humboldt County, Calif. artists well-known for his murals and quirky artwork, as well as his kinetic sculptures, which you can see in Humboldt's famous Kinetic Sculpture Race every May. Flatmo gave the McKinleyville Totem Pole much more vibrant colors and a unique design. It's worth looking at the Totem Pole from various angles and under different lighting conditions. Use binoculars to watch birds hanging out at the top. Some people make the mistake of judging the totem pole as if it's supposed to be somehow authentic from a Native American point of view. It's not. It's a piece of interesting folk art. The Totem Pole is at the McKinleyville Shopping Center, so you can combine seeing this site with stocking up on food, beverages and other supplies.
- Anonymous on 2008-04-01 said:
- Having lived up there much of my life I can tell you that if you plan to make a special visit to see the pole you will be a bit disappointed. It's neat and all, worth looking at for about 3 minutes but there are 1,000 amazing places up there that I would visit first. Rich in history, beautiful nature spots and steeped in Indian traditions... make sure to swing by the pole but check out everything else first.
Last Edited: 2006-06-10
