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All the United States California Castroville World's Largest Artichoke Statue
Gastro Obscura

World's Largest Artichoke Statue

It should come as no surprise that the world's largest artichoke lies in the town that calls itself the "Artichoke Center of the World."

Castroville, California

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kjmoore12
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Cars for scale   jeff covey on Flickr
This is a gigantic artichoke   Rie H on Flickr
Bow down   brenbot on Flickr
“Live” from the Artichoke Center of the World   sporst on Flickr
  Findingbalance18 / Atlas Obscura User
  katerayne / Atlas Obscura User
Kitsch galore to be found inside.   James Ricci / Atlas Obscura User
Try the fried artichokes inside.   James Ricci / Atlas Obscura User
  jlord7 / Atlas Obscura User
  Sorrel / Atlas Obscura User
  Avoiding Regret
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About

The world is full of difficult-to-eat freaks of nature, but somehow the recalcitrance of these little buggers only makes them more lovable. Ranking high on this list is the lowly, prickly artichoke.

Such is a fact Monterey County, California has known well for almost a century now, where a belt of perfect soil produces nearly all the United States' artichokes each year. Even here, nowhere has turned these little green grenades into a mascot more effectively than the farming town of Castroville. 

Erected at the front of a fruit and vegetable stand-cum-restaurant (aptly called "Giant Artichoke") is a 20-foot tall, 12-foot wide concrete version of nature's green wonder. Tourists pull over to take pictures with it before wandering inside for what is rumored to be pretty decent food. Passersby would be forgiven for thinking this were a mere marketing ploy on behalf of the establishment in whose parking lot the huge artichoke stands, were it not for the fact that its tumescence goes part-and-parcel with Castroville's rank as "Artichoke Center of the World." 

But perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the World's Largest Artichoke is the fact that its very first queen was none other than Marilyn Monroe herself. Way back in 1947 – to be fair, a full 16 years before the giant 'choke was commissioned by roadside stand owner Ray Bei – the young ingenue was crowned the queen of Castroville's very first annual Artichoke Festival.

Despite setting an insurmountable bar for all her successors and having such a lovely ring to it, "Norma Jean, Artichoke Queen" remains a little-referenced pitstop on Monroe's path to fame, even as so many fans of Americana stop to pay tribute to the giant, green wonder that continues to magnetically attract our attention, just like it did hers so long ago. 

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Roadside Attractions Food World's Largest

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At Hwy 156 & Main Street. You'll know when you see it.

Great fried artichoke hearts!

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kjmoore12

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littlebrumble, bryanwoerner, ajk919, CCruzme...

  • littlebrumble
  • bryanwoerner
  • ajk919
  • CCruzme
  • Avoiding Regret
  • James Ricci
  • Findingbalance18
  • Sorrel
  • jlord7
  • katerayne

Published

January 28, 2016

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  • http://www.seecalifornia.com/farms/artichokes.html
  • http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=39
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/4024
World's Largest Artichoke Statue
11261 Merritt St.
Castroville, California, 95012
United States
36.762309, -121.752887
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