PETA was sad to learn that a statue of the Lorax, Dr. Seuss' emblematic character from the eco-centric tale of the same name, was stolen from his widow's California yard. To help ease her pain, the animal rights' group has just offered Audrey Geisel use of their "crippled chicken statue," which they hope she'll display in the meantime. more ›

The two-foot-tall, 300-pound bronze Lorax statue that once stood in the backyard of the late Dr. Seuss' La Jolla mansion has been heisted. The theft occurred over the weekend, but property manager Carl Romero and Dr. Suess' widow, Audrey Geisel, did not discover the absence of their valuable friend until Monday morning during a walk in the garden. more ›

A controversial life-size statue of a former president placed in a Newport Beach park suffered damage after a botched attempt by a thief to remove it from the site, according to Newport Beach Patch. The statue of Ronald Reagan, approved in January, was unveiled last month. more ›

One, two, Freddy's coming for you. Oh, wait, you're safe. He's been captured. An animatronic statue of "Nightmare on Elm Street's" Freddy Krueger was swiped from its post in front of Insurance 4 Less on Third Avenue in downtown Chula Vista on Wednesday, said police on Friday. more ›

On September 11 the famous Cardiff-by-the-Sea statue dubbed formally as "Magic Carpet Ride" and informally as "Cardiff Kook" was found dressed proudly in firefighter garb to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. more ›

If you're a regular visitor to Echo Park Lake, you may wonder if that statue of a woman you're used to seeing in one place came to life and moved herself to a new locale. Well, no such fairy tale to tell today; the "Lady of the Lake" was picked up and moved as part of a massive clean-up project going on at the park. more ›

Over the weekend, a Cardiff-by-the-sea statue named “Magic Carpet Ride,” -- informally referred to as the "Cardiff Kook" -- underwent another in a series of unapproved transformations at the hands of jokers or vandals or guerrilla artists or Miss Baker's 4th grade science class. more ›

Lakers drama is a year-round sport and it's no longer just the 122-86 elimination laugher that's temporarily tarnished the Lakers legacy -- it's disdain from above. 7-foot-2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is fed up: he can't believe the Lakers have yet to erect a statue bearing his likeness and quite frankly, neither can we. Kareem's taking his case on a 360-degree multimedia tour from sports radio to the late-night talk circuit to the Twitters. more ›

Huntington Gardens + statue art + photo workshop + iPhone + Hipstamatic app = Moody black & white shots from Keith Skelton - Chiaroscuro Photo Workshops in our LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr. more ›

In an emotional unveiling ceremony held yesterday evening, Lakers veteran Jerry West, aka "Mr. Clutch" was honored with a bronze statue on the plaza at Staples Center. The 72-year-old, who played for Los Angeles his entire pro basketball career, was on hand, and quite taken by the moment. more ›

It appears London-based street artist D*Face is back in town, this time installing a 6-foot tall version of the Oscar statue with pieces of flesh missing, exposing muscle and bones, atop the trail in Runyon Canyon. "Beauty Is Just A Slice Away," a caption reads on the artwork. more ›

Mascot wars are on in full force. "UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton says the statue in Bruin Square was splashed with red and gold paint sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning," according to the Star-News. The painters had to "cut through a protective tarp to vandalize the statue," which sits in the middle of UCLA's Westwood campus. Campus police are investigating the case, and authorities "say the prank is being treated as a felony vandalism investigation," reports LA Now. Across town USC students are standing guard of their Tommy Trojan statue, which is also wrapped up for protection. The rival schools face off on the football field on Saturday. more ›

A priest at Santa Monica Catholic Church made an unpleasant discovery just before Easter Sunday services were due to begin last weekend: Their 55-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary had been decapitated. The marble Mary has previously been the target of vandals, when in 2002 her hands and feet were removed by vandals, reports the LA Weekly. Worshippers were "shocked" according to a live report from the Church, where the statue has been draped in plastic and people have left flowers in tribute. Police are treating the beheading as a hate crime because of the significance of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic faith. Santa Monica Catholic Church is where Gov. Arnold Schwarzegger frequently attends services. more ›

Oscar statues are actually made 2,000 miles away in Chicago. So sister site to LAist, Chicagoist, made a visit to the factory. Here's a sample: "Oscar starts life as an ingot of britannia metal (think high-class pewter). Always the achiever, he receives his first casting call early. The ingot is melted in a small furnace and the molten metal is then poured into a mold bearing the familiar pose. The casting process is an art in itself, requiring precise temperature control, timing and mold manipulation..." more ›

For a long time it seemed like Bob's Big Boy was going, going, and almost gone. But the end of an era has been halted, thanks to the new owner of the site of the old Johnie's Broiler in Downey, who is set to build a new Big Boy based on old designs. more ›

• A 16-year-old boy who shot at a police car in Boyle Heights last night remains at large today.
• Details are clearing things up about what was first reported as a drive-by shooting that took place on Ventura Blvd. last night; turns out it was two employees of a smoke shop who were shot. The assailants entered the store through the back entrance.
• The body of 62-year-old Dean Gordon Christy was found yesterday in the Green Valley Lake are a. Christy, a North Hollywood resident and beloved Glendale teacher, was an avid outdoorsman who was first reported missing three months ago.
• George Russell Weller, the elderly man behind the wheel for a horrific accident at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market in 2003, has paid only $500 of the tens of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution he owes. The 91-year-old is appealing his 2006 conviction.
• After a 45-day shut down for sediment removal, water facility Pyramid Lake reopened today.
• Myrna who? Alumni of Venice High have begun a campaign to bring a decades-old statue of actress Myrna Loy out of storage and back on display on the campus. Loy was popular in the 30s on the screen, and her statue became popular in recent years as the object of pranks.
• EaterLA has their weekly roundup of celeb spottings up, and normally we wouldn't care, but their first report is about rocker Dave Grohl spotted dining at Mozza on Wednesday... LAist, however, spotted him just a few hours earlier than his dinner at our favorite East Valley cafe. Dave, my how you get around!

more ›

more ›

It's hard to imagine someone surreptitiously making off with something that's 7 feet tall and made of bronze, but it seems that's what has happened in a park located in the Mid-City neighborhood of Carthay Circle. more ›

In a story today about the possible departure of the John Wayne statue from the front of Flynt Publications –- it may go to Newport Beach, the Glendale-raised Duke's longtime home -– LAT's Bob Pool gets this euphemized gem from porn magnate Larry Flynt:

From his publishing headquarters above the statue, Flynt said he wouldn't miss the Duke and his horse if they headed south. more ›