Mighty Joe (gorilla, Shamong)

Shamong, New Jersey, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Mighty Joe is a 25-foot fiberglass gorilla in the parking lot of Mighty Joe's Deli and Grill, a gas station and deli at 1231 US Route 206 in Shamong, New Jersey. The business says it was built in Spain and stood in Wildwood before being bought and unveiled at Shamong in 2004 as a memorial.

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Mighty Joe (gorilla, Shamong)

This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Site-level location · 39.8110° N, 74.7375° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

A 25-foot fiberglass gorilla stands at the edge of a gas station parking lot on US Route 206 in Shamong, and he has had several careers on the way. Weird NJ describes a giant black gorilla scowling at passing motorists.

The business behind him says he was built in Spain at a reported cost of $50,000, and that he once towered over the Wildwood boardwalk as "Kongo-Pongo" and "Magilla". Weird NJ adds that a stairway behind the figure led to two sliding boards attached to his chest. He later stood as "George" over a go-kart track near Wildwood, until a storm buckled his feet and left him pitched forward onto his fists.

The family that owns the deli and grill bought him as a memorial. Their son, a bodybuilder nicknamed "Mighty Joe", died in 1999, and the family renamed their gas station in his honour. Weird NJ reports a purchase price of $2,000, while the business says the seller passed over 15 higher bidders. After six months in a repair shop, it says, he was unveiled in 2004; repairs cost about five times the purchase price. The holes in his chest, left by the old slides, are covered by a sign that reads "Hello, my name is Mighty Joe", and ends: "HEY, JOE, WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU."

The gorilla's early years are poorly documented. A man who said he was involved in the sale told Weird NJ that the figure was shipped from Spain in the 1960s at a cost of $50,000. The business's website says the eyes glow red.

Mighty Joe stands on private business property, not at a public site. The business is a working gas station and deli, family run since 1979 by its own account, and its website invites visitors to stop and take a selfie with the gorilla.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A working gas station, deli and grill with the gorilla in its parking lot. The business's website (archived July 2026) lists it as open seven days: Monday to Thursday 5am to 7pm, Friday to Sunday 6am to 7pm, and invites visitors to take a selfie with Mighty Joe.

ACCESS

On private commercial property at Mighty Joe's Deli and Grill, 1231 US Route 206, Shamong, New Jersey. Stop at the business to see the gorilla in its parking lot; it is a gas station, not a park.

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27 km away

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