'Sitting Man' – Iowa City, Iowa - Atlas Obscura
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'Sitting Man'

Iowa City, Iowa

How did the 110-ton limestone statue cross the road? 

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This 20-foot, 110-ton limestone sculpture, originally titled Man On a Bench, has had a short, but eventful, life. It was designed and carved over the course of a year by Doug Paul and Iowa stonemason J.B. Barnhouse. For the next five years, it looked out over Harvest Preserve. Then, in July 2020, it moved.

“It was not made to be moved,” Paul told the Iowa City Gazette, but he had done a land swap and needed to transport the statue from one side of the road to the other. Sitting Man is made out of 11 blocks of Indiana limestone, which have steel pins embedded inside to keep the stones in place. Each block was carefully removed, driven across Scott Boulevard, and placed in its new location. In its new, permanent home, the statue looks out to the east. 

Know Before You Go

There is no parking on N. Scott Boulevard immediately near the Sitting Man.


There is parking available at the shopping center about a half mile/ 1000m south of the Statue near the intersection of Rochester Ave & N Scott Blvd.


There is also a bike/walking path that runs along side the statue and park where he resides.  

stone sculptures statues
Nearby
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1.79 miles
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2.68 miles
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3.57 miles
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