Yesterday was a really nice day here in Worcester - wow! More, please?!
I took the opportunity to get some more pictures of my favorite statue 
I needed to have some more pix for the Turtle Boy fan-site I built.
Today, it’s raining again. Back to work in the studio. I’m glad I took advantage of that sun while it lasted.
Everyone knows about Turtle Boy but did you know about Dolphin Boy?
Wormtown Taxi has pictures and a great post. If you haven’t seen him, he’s a statue of a nude boy swimming with a dolphin located in a courtyard behind One Chestnut Place. Actually, he looks a bit like he’s flying not swimming. It’s not as snicker-worthy as Turtle Boy, but it is a bit odd due to where it is and how it is positioned.
I remember the “Dolphin Boy” statue from my Paul Revere Insurance days. We used to have lunch at the Chestnut Cafe at One Chestnut Place. From inside the cafe you get a clear view of the back end of this very large, anatomically correct, naked boy. One of my friends used to threaten to sneak in at night and put shorts on him so we could eat lunch without that view.
Anyway - head over to Wormtown Taxi and have a look.
Alright all you naughty minded people - and you know who you are…. haha! This is the famed Turtle Boy statue of Worcester, MA.
It seems that a lot of people are into checking this thing out (if my stats and image views are any indication).
For those who are not from Worcester, MA, this is a statue that used to be a fountain. It’s located in downtown Worcester, Salem Square, at the edge of the Common. It’s also a bit of a conversation piece. I think you can see why people would be talking about this thing, and giggling a bit too.
If you’ve stumbled here and are wondering what this thing really is:
It’s real name is the Burnside Fountain - not “Turtle Boy” or “Boy doing it with a Turtle” (although those names certainly are more descriptive)
It was a gift to the city by Harriet Burnside. Poking around I found info stating that she gave the city $5000 in 1905 to have a fountain built.
It’s original purpose was a water trough for dogs and horses but now it’s just a monument, no water. It’s not a big deal since nobody rides horses around in Worcester anymore.
The fountain was designed by Charles Harvey and Sherry Fry and was completed around 1912.
I know - boring stuff compared to what people usually say about the statue - it doesn’t take much of an imagination to guess what sorts of comments are made so I don’t need to go there. I’m sure Harriet Burnside and the designers didn’t have anything naughty in mind when they first created this.
Anyway - it’s a great landmark. If you are in Worcester, make sure you visit Turtle Boy
More information about the statue is available on the Worcester DPW site and also on Art Inventories Catalog site. There’s also a good piece here.
Here’s some more stuff around Worcester
Bancroft Tower - This is a monument that also has some naughty things said about it.
Hurstwic - Viking Age Living History Society - Not at all naughty but very interesting folks.
Higgins Armory Museum & the Higgins Armory Sword Guild - also not naughty, sorry.. but they do have cool swords.
My HUGE flickr.com collection of Worcester, MA pictures. It’s got all sorts of places, festivals and other stuff.
Find more photos like this on I'm from Worcester
This post was picked up by Worcester Magazine’s Blog Log. Check it out, see what the Worcester Blogosphere is talking about @ Worcester Magazine. The “Blog Log” is under “Opinion”.
Find more photos like this on I'm from Worcester
Well, I really didn’t have much to write about today so I thought I’d put this up instead
Click here for the story of the Turtle Boy
Something weird is going on. This picture has gotten over 1400 hits in less than a month. That’s an incredible amount of views. In fact, it’s about three times more views than my previously “most viewed” picture.
Obviously, someone is linking to this picture. I’m curious and would like to see where it’s being used. I don’t mind but hope that it’s being properly tagged and credited per the Flickr agreements. *hint - if it’s you that has my pic. please tag it right!*
Oh well, I think it’s just weird. It’s not even a very good picture of this statue.
Someone linked to the pictures in a comment on Digg.com (and yes, it’s a “legal” link - thank you!).
The post has a pretty funny bunch of comments - especially if you look at the pictures they link to. NSFW WARNING! Not all the pictures are safe for easily-offended types!
It all started when someone posted a link to a picture of a public statue that they thought was naughty (it really wasn’t that bad). My “turtle boy” picture was linked in one of the “If you think that’s bad, look at this!” comments.
LOL! And hooray for Turtle Boy! His reputation of being a weird statue and great topic of discussion is holding up well in web2.0-world. Worcester wouldn’t be the same without him. We LOVE our Turtle Boy!
(Also, thank you to the Digg poster who linked me up. I’m so glad it was a “real person” and not some silly image-stealing robot or something. I hate those!)
Click here for more info. about the Turtle Boy
