At one point in time, there were several gigantic “muffler men” built as advertisements around the United States. They often resembled a giant Paul Bunyan, whose enormous hands carried either a huge car muffler or a king-sized axe or some other prop.
Yeah, something like that one up above. There used to be a “Muffler Man” on Central Avenue in Albany, I believe he stood near an auto repair shop at the intersection of Central and Vatrano, just past the railroad underpass.
I’m posting these memories because I came across this YouTube clip from a restoration company called American Giants. They find these old Muffler Men statues, restore them, and then provide them with new homes at stores and amusement parks across the country.
Of course … you know what happens after you find one of these videos. You plummet down the rabbit hole and find out there’s a freakin’ YouTube TV series about the company that restores these behemoths.
This is fun stuff. And it’s a nice diversion on a cold winter’s day.
Apparently American Giants finds these treasures, restores them, repairs their fiberglass structures, repaints them, and brings them to new locations.
Plus, now I start to wonder whatever happened to the Muffler Man from Central Avenue.
Perhaps he found a Uniroyal Girl and they had three kids together, Manny Moe and Jack. 😀
Chuck The Writer 
The one on Central was on the corner of Central and Farfield, not Central Vetrano. I lived nearby and passed it all the time. I still remember it. Safeway Muffler think. Vatrano is the industrial park where Little Anthony used to be.
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