Black Bird

Medford, Oregon, United States

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Characters and mascots

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

The Black Bird is a 29-foot blackbird statue that Lee Hobbs built in 1965 in the parking lot of his Blackbird Shopping Center, an army surplus store at 1810 W Main Street, Medford, Oregon. It still stands in front of the store and turned 60 in 2025.

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Black Bird

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Site-level location · 42.3245° N, 122.8931° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Since 1965 a 29-foot black bird has loomed over W Main Street in Medford, built to bring customers into the store behind it. That year Lee Hobbs founded the Blackbird Shopping Center as an army surplus store, and, according to Jefferson Public Radio's As It Was series, he built the statue himself, using skills he learned at Boeing making aircraft templates.

Concrete bars formed the skeleton, hog wire was clipped over the frame, and smooth fiberglass was sprayed over the wire. Jefferson Public Radio says the underpinning reaches 30 feet below the surface. The yellow and black head was wired with a speaker, and the bird has three talons on each hand and two on each foot.

Several mynah birds in the shop screamed and talked to customers, and one still remained in 2015. A smaller five-foot blackbird statue on wheels used to haul sales out to cars. In 2015 Jefferson Public Radio noted that a small plaque under the mascot's left foot memorializes Hobbs, who died in 1973.

Upkeep follows the calendar: in 2015 the radio piece reported that the bird gets a paint job when needed and wardrobe changes that reflect the season. In May 2025 the Rogue Valley Times marked the statue's 60th birthday with a tongue-in-cheek interview, noting that it had been given a bath for the occasion. The store, which has since opened a second location in Phoenix, Oregon, says on its website that the statue has watched over Medford for more than 60 years.

The bird stands in the parking lot of a working store, so it is a quick stop for a photograph before you browse the hardware and outdoor gear.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

Giant mascot in the parking lot of a working hardware and outdoor store, with, according to a 2015 radio report, a plaque for its builder under the left foot. The bird gets seasonal costume changes, according to a 2015 radio report; the store held a birthday weekend with prizes for the bird's 60th in May 2025.

ACCESS

In the parking lot of the Black Bird store, 1810 W Main Street, Medford, Oregon, visible from the lot and street. It sits on commercial property, so respect the store premises and its opening hours. The store's website, read 2026-10-20, lists hours of Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

COMMUNITY

Visitor Log

WHAT'S NEXT

Find another Big Thing nearby

We Are Here is a 19-foot, 3,000-pound sculpture carved by Russell Beebe from a single 53-year-old alder. Moved from downtown Ashland in 2013, it stands on the first floor of Southern Oregon University's Hannon Library, with a bronze replica at the original site.

Public art

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23 km away

TRANSPARENCY

Sources & research

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