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Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues, Bemidji

Originally conceived as a gimmick to promote tourism during the city’s 1937 Winter Carnival, the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues in Bemidji became the second-most-photographed sculptures in the country in the 1940s. The prototypical “roadside colossus” inspired dozens of other Minnesota and Midwest cities to create similar works in the decades that followed.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox postcard, ca. 1940

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox postcard, ca. 1940. Published By NMN, Inc., Crosslake, Minnesota.

Paul Bunyan statue postcard, ca. 1938

Paul Bunyan statue postcard, ca. 1938. Photograph by St. Marie's Gopher News Company.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues, ca. 1950

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues (Bemidji) with a horse and rider underneath Babe, ca. 1950.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues with Lake Bemidji in the background, 2019

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues with Lake Bemidji in the background, at left. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Nejones1987, June 14, 2019.

Rear view of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues, 2007

Rear view of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues, Bemidji. Photo by Flickr user Krista Kennedy, May 16, 2007.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues, ca. 1950s

Kodachrome slide of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues, Bemidji, undated but ca. 1950s. Found by Flickr user Thomas Hawk and uploaded April 10, 2022.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues in summer, ca. 1955

Bemidji's Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues in summer, ca. 1955.

Group with Paul Bunyan statue, 1938

A group poses in front of the Paul Bunyan statue in Bemidji on January 13, 1938. From the folder “Bemidji” in box 145 of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Edina newspaper photographs collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Babe the Blue Ox statue, 1938

Babe the Blue Ox statue, Bemidji, 1938.

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