Thirty feet of green fiberglass, a silver rocket, and a space helmet shaped like a fishbowl make for one of the oddest greetings a driver can get in Illinois. This astronaut has been waving travelers down since the 1960s, back when kids dreamed of blasting off to the moon.
He almost vanished a few years ago, but local folks refused to let him go. Now he stands in a fresh spot, freshly painted, and visiting him costs exactly nothing.
A Space-Age Landmark In Will County
Drive about an hour southwest of Chicago and the small Will County town of Wilmington hands you a surprise. Right at 201 Bridge Street, near the entrance to South Island Park, a towering astronaut stands with a gleaming rocket in his hands.
He is called the Gemini Giant, and he measures around 30 feet tall. The statue belongs to a famous family of roadside figures known as Muffler Men, giant fiberglass fellows built in the 1960s to catch the eye of passing drivers…