One of the thrills of traveling back roads is coming across unique and unplanned sites that are worth taking time to visit and look at. Such is the case with the Raymond Wildlife-Heritage Sculpture Corridor in Raymond, Washington.
On my return trip home from Port Orchard, I decided to take US 101 south towards Portland and just see what I come across. My goal was to drive US 101, and not necessarily have anything in mind to see.
To my glee and surprise, I came across Raymond. What a treat!
As I drove into town, I noticed a few metal sculptures. I am always on the lookout for good metal sculptures, but what I discovered as I got closer into town was that there were dozens and dozens of them — life-size statues of people made out of scrap metal. Despite the heavy rain (notice, I didn’t get out for a selfie here), I took a number of pictures.
After-the-fact, I researched and found that there were predominantly three different sculptors that did most of the work including Joanne Jambor (who created 36 animal silhouette cutouts), Hans Curtis Nelson (who created over 40 three-dimensional sculptures) and Renee Bishop O’Connor (who created 41 silhouette drawings of animals and people). The statues depict the culture, the heritage and generally a snapshot of the population of Raymond. There is even a 2.8 mile walking tour that the city and the Willapa Harbor Chamber of Commerce provide. (There is an online historical writeup here). Though I only provide a sampling of the statues in this post, there are over 200 whimsical metal sculptures scattered throughout the city of 1300 people.
The project of the steel people, uniquely named the Raymond Wildlife Heritage Sculptures Corridor, started in 1993, and they apparently continue to add them little by little.
Now, join me for a nice little view of more of the wonderful steel statues of Raymond.
Raymond also has a colorful historic mural in place on the side of a building and has other unique things.
ENJOY THE RIDE! CHOOSE HAPPY!
If you like what you see, you may want to check out my book: Less Beaten Paths of America: Unique Town Names, available on Amazon. My second book, Less Beaten Paths of America: Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions, is currently being worked on and I hope to make it available in late June 2018. Click on the photo below for more details or to get a copy of the book.
