Skip to main content

The BBBBIIIIGGGG Chicken - Marietta, GA


"...turn left at the Big Chicken."

Landmarks, before the era of GPS navigation, physical places, man-made or not, were often used in directions to help get from one place to another.

"...one mile South of the Big Chicken."

On US 41 in Marietta, Georgia - a 56-foot tall red-and-white chicken - complete with a moving beak and rolling eyes - dominates the suburban commercial strip.  You can see it from nearby Interstate 75 - it's simply known as The BIG Chicken.

The story of The Big Chicken dates back to 1963. Stanly "Tubby" Davis wanted a unique way to promote his Johnny Reb's Chick-Chuck-'N'-Shake.  The restaurant served fried chicken, hamburgers, and milkshakes.  It also was a drive-in offering curbside service.

Davis commissioned a local Georgia Tech student, Hubert Puckett, to design the roadside attraction.  Puckett would later be involved in renovations to the structure after it sustained significant storm damage in 1993.

Close-up of the moving beak and rolling eyes of The Big Chicken.

Kentucky Fried Chicken would become the new home of The Big Chicken in 1974.  Puckett sold his business to his brother, who would convert Johnny Reb's to a KFC franchise. 

The seven-story attraction has survived numerous attempts to dismantle it.  At first, Kentucky Fried Chicken did not like the locally beloved landmark.  It would later try to move the bird to another Atlanta location.  However, a January 1993 windstorm would cement The Big Chicken permanently at the corner of Cobb Parkway and Roswell.

The 1993 renovated version of The Big Chicken - (Joe Babyak - January 2008)

High winds had dislodged several steel panels from the body of the chicken.  KFC officials were ready to move on and tear it down. Marietta and area residents protested as it had become a local attraction.  Aircraft pilots also stepped in to support The Big Chicken.  They used The Big Chicken as a landmark on their approaches to nearby airports.  KFC relented - and a renovation project would restore the chicken back to operation the following year.

KFC enthusiastically embraced The Big Chicken in the 2017 remodel.

The Big Chicken would undergo a second renovation in 2017.  A $2 million renovation updated the chicken, restaurant, and accompanying gift shop.  The restaurant was updated to modern-KFC standards. And, to show how far KFC-corporate has changed its view of Puckett's chicken, the BIG Chicken is the centerpiece of all the local branding.

All photos taken by post author - March 2023 - unless otherwise noted.

Sources & Links:

How To Get There:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade.  This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman.  Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga.  The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough.  Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade.  The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding.  From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga.   The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the  1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...

The Dummy Lights of New York

  A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights  that  were  placed  in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also  originally  positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as  " dummy lights "  and were common until  traffic lights were moved  onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection.  In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights  are found  in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...