You could call Atlanta, Illinois, the land of giants these days. Towering over the community 45 miles north of Springfield is a collection of roadside icons brought together by a small museum.
Those itching for a spring road trip should get their motors running and head out on the highway to Atlanta. From there look for more adventure in Peoria, where you can go wild with automobile culture at the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s custom car exhibit.
Welcoming its first visitors last year, the American Giants Museum closes for the winter months but is open April through October. Joining the collection this year is an original Bob’s Big Boy statue. Other fiberglass creations include a 1967 Texaco Big Friend almost 24 feet tall and “The Snerd,” a goofy-looking big guy from an Ohio amusement park.
Concrete pads await the arrival of a giant Viking, Native American chief and cowboy figure, according to museum volunteers. Nearby on Atlanta’s main street, a Paul Bunyan-like Muffler Man holds a massive hot dog. Luni the Lady Giant attracts customers to the Country Aire Restaurant just off Route 66.
Joel Baker, considered the leader of a movement to identify, collect and restore giant statues manufactured by the International Fiberglass Company in California, visited Atlanta’s Bunyan hot dog man. He had the idea of a museum dedicated to the movement, and Atlanta civic leaders jumped on it to enhance the town’s tourism.
Visitors to the donation-optional museum can watch a video explaining Baker’s work, see some of Baker’s collection of artifacts from International Fiberglass and view parts of other advertising giants. The building sits on the site of an old gas station and resembles one, complete with a Texaco sign and vintage gas pumps.
Museum materials explain how businesses used to try to attract motorists with marketing signs, billboards and an array of fiberglass giants, animals and other objects. Such efforts fueled America’s highway culture.
The museum is popular with Route 66 aficionados, according to volunteer Marge Dyer. “We get people from all over the world, including Japan, Lithuania, Brazil and New Zealand. It is just amazing,” she said.
The American Giants Museum is open April through September from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. In October it is open only on weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Atlanta also attracts travelers with a few gift/antique shops, an arcade museum, the J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator Museum and an historic library with a clock tower. For more information on Atlanta, visit atlantaillinoistourism.com.
After your Atlanta visit, you can motor to Peoria for a stop at the Riverfront Museum and its special exhibit, “BUILT: American Custom Car Culture,” running through April 27. Each of the eight vehicles in the exhibit is unique with customized engineering, chrome and paint.
The museum advertises the exhibition as the first showcasing “the diverse history, artistry and mechanics of American custom cars with nationally recognized cars from the Midwest.”
The majority of the cars, trucks and motorcycles displayed come from central Illinois builders but have won national custom car shows.
The region has a long tradition of cruising and celebrating car customization with the first Street Rod Nationals held in Peoria in 1970, according to museum information.
Melody Konrad, assistant director of marketing and communications for the museum, says the BUILT exhibit is just one reason to stop. “The Peoria Riverfront Museum itself is such as awesome place to visit for a day trip because we don’t just cover one area. We have exhibitions on science, history, art and local achievements.”
The museum also hosts a planetarium and a giant screen theater “so you can see a movie, a planetarium show and museum galleries all in the same visit,” she said.
Konrad said the most popular permanent exhibit is “Bronzeville to Harlem: An American Story,” which features nationally known local sculptor Preston Jackson. Jackson’s studio is in the nearby Contemporary Arts Center, allowing him to keep the exhibit fresh.
Documentarian Ken Burns is curating a future exhibit for the museum to celebrate the United States’ semiquincentennial in 2026, Konrad said. Information on that exhibit and other happenings is available at peoriariverfrontmuseum.org.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors 60+ and students over age 17, and $16 for youth ages 13-17. Every second Sunday of the month museum admission is free. Visitors pay extra for planetarium shows and movies.
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This article appears in Spring Guide 2025.
