May 13, 2025
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Video: GIGANTAR Is Here!

Joliet’s new roadside attraction has arrived

By Ryan Searl
The largest hand-made guitar sculpture, Gigantar, hangs outside of the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum in Joliet.

The largest hand-made guitar sculpture, Gigantar, hangs outside of the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum in Joliet. (Gary Middendorf – gmiddendorf@shawmedia/Gary Middendorf)

As part of the $1.5 million IL DCEO Route 66 Grant that Heritage Corridor Destinations was awarded last year, a giant guitar sculpture was commissioned from the artist Shannon MacDonald. The sculpture, nicknamed Gigantar, is the largest hand-made guitar sculpture ever created, measuring 24 feet tall.

“GIGANTAR will be the museum’s icon,” said Ron Romero, Executive Director of the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum. “We are thrilled with the work Shannon has done and we can’t wait to show it to music lovers throughout Illinois and the world.”

“I am proud to bring this amazing sculpture to life,” Shannon MacDonald said. “From New Jersey to Joliet, everyone involved has worked very hard.”

Visit Gigantar at the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66. 9 W. Cass St, Joliet, IL

https://www.thefirsthundredmiles.com/2023/01/31/video-gigantar-is-here/