Elk Grove's Elks
Text and Photos by Ed Hass

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 In the spring of 2002, the Chamber of Commerce in Elk Grove, CA, bought 50 life-size fiberglass elk statues, to put up all over town. I saw one truckload of 10 or 12 unpainted fibergalss elks enter town sometime in June, 2002. A few weeks later, I saw two dozen or more of them in front of a warehouse near Highway 99, awaiting painting and display. Gradually, local stores began sponsoring individual elk statues, and commissioning local artists to paint them creatively. Each elk was given its own unique name, a cement platform to mount the elk statue, and a plaque with the statue's name, the corporate sponsor's name, and the artist's name. 		           

ELKamino (at left), in front of Border's Books at 7415 Laguna Boulevard, is the first elk I found. It is also the first elk you'll find as you travel down Laguna Boulevard, from Laguna's starting point at Interstate 5. You will find it in the Target shopping center, which is on your left, just past Bruceville Road.

Commissioned by Donahue Scribner Realty Group and created by artist Helen Plenert-Horiuchi, ELKamino is decorated like a Chevrolet El Camino, complete with chrome trim and lights, and even a rear license plate! Note the fuzzy dice and hula dancer in his antlers.
If you continue toward Highway 99 on Laguna Bouleavrd for another four blocks, you will find BLAZ (the firefighting elk) by Sid Wellman. It will also be on your left. Painted flame red, BLAZ stands in front of sponsoring Access Computers & Wireless, at 7811 Laguna Boulevard. BLAZ is ready for any emergency, with an axe strapped to one side, a shovel on the other, a real fire helmet on his head with chin-strap secured around his neck, and real rubber firefighter's boots on all four hooves.
Continuing on Laguna Boulevard toward Highway 99, you will find the brand-new Wells-Fargo bank in the new Laguna Gateway Shopping Center at 9170 West Stockton Boulevard. This Wells-Fargo branch opened in July, 2002. The concrete platform and artist's plaque for ELK Fargo by Jeff Hutchings is in place, but the elk was not there yet as of August 9, 2002.

Elk Fargo finally showed-up at the Wells-Fargo bank in mid-September, 2002, and I was finally able to photograph it on October 27, 2002.
As you exit the Laguna Gateway Shopping Center, continue on West Stockton Boulevard across Laguna Boulevard. Stockton Boulevard turns left and then right, paralelling Highway 99. If you go straight instead of turning left and then right, you will find that you are no longer on West Stockton Boulevard! It is confusing, but if you are alert and patient, and stick with it, you will be rewarded with Elk of the Frontier by Susan Frederico and Scott Forsman, in front of sponsoring Frontier Communications at 9324 West Stockton Boulevard. This unique elk statue is covered with thousands of different-colored rubber bands!
West Stockton Boulevard dead-ends into a shopping center. Continue through the parking lot, and you exit onto Elk Grove Boulevard. You'll have to turn right onto Elk Grove, but as soon as you legally can, U-turn on Elk Grove Blvd., cross Highway 99, and immediately turn left onto East Stockton Boulevard.

Notice that there are actually two Stockton Boulevards: they parallel both sides of Highway 99! Go down East Stockton, back toward Laguna Boulevard, to find not one but THREE more elks!

ELK-vis, the Elvis impersonator elk in sequined white suit, stands in front of Lodi Bank at 9663 East Stockton Boulevard in Elk Grove. Artists are listed as "Paul & Phil of Y92 and friends". 		.
Aptly-named HENRY by Brian Heath stands in front of Elk Grove Ford at 9499 East Stockton Boulevard. It is decorated with several photos of Henry Ford's famed Model T (over 15 million Ford Ts were made from 1908 to 1927). HENRY is scheduled to move in September, 2002, to the new Ford dealership currently under construction at Elk Grove Auto Mall.

Paper or Plastic by Gretchen Ryan, is in front of the Raley's supermarket that sponsored this one, at 9149 East Stockton Boulevard. Note the paper shopping-bag pants, the fruit-pattern skin, and the cash-register receipts dangling from his antlers.

Continue on East Stockton Street to Laguna Bouleavrd, and turn right. Notice on this side of Highway 99, Laguna Boulevard changes names, and becomes Bond Road. Continue on Bond Road until you reach Elk Grove-Florin Road. At this traffic light, you will see the ARCO gas station on your right, and Bond Road narrows to one lane just past the light. But do not pass the ARCO station; instead, turn right on Elk Grove-Florin Road..

You should find Sport'n Braces by Sid Wellman, in front of Elk Grove Orthodontics at 9727 Elk Grove-Florin Road. I have not yet had a chance to look for and photograph this one, so I cannot guarantee that it is there yet. Sponsor is Doctor Rollofson.

Continue on Elk Grove-Florin Road to Elk Grove Boulevard, and turn right. You will find three more elks in a three-block stretch of Elk Grove Boulevard!

The Founders Elk 1850-2002 at River City Bank, 8923 Elk Grove Boulevard, traces the history of the Elk Grove area, starting from the Native Americans. Artist is Mike Rodriguez.
Spirit of Elk Grove by Yvonne Bonacci stands in front of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce at 8820 Elk Grove Boulevard. It features a street scene of the original town of Elk Grove, much of which still stands only a few blocks from this elk.
Bel-Air supermarket at 8787 Elk Grove Boulevard features this fruit-skinned elk named "wELKome" by Brian Heath. It wELKomes you to the Bel-Air Market.

As you continue on Elk Grove Boulevard away from Highway 99, toward Interstate 5, you will find the Elk Grove Auto Mall. Turn left on Auto Center Drive to see the new Ford dealership now under construction, where HENRY (whom we saw earlier) is scheduled to move in September, 2002. There is supposed to be an elk named Mosaic by Stephen Simonson in front of Golden 1 Credit Union at 9650 Auto Center Drive, but when I went to look for it, I found no elk, no Credit Union, and no address of 9650 Auto Center, and I soon found myself once more back on Stockton Boulevard!

Now turn around on Auto Center Drive, and at the end of Auto Center, turn left on Elk Grove Boulevard. Continue a couple of miles down Elk Grove, to Interstate 5 North (toward Sacramento).

Elk mania has spread outside the city limits of Elk Grove now, to the much-larger city of Sacramento, The California State Capital to the north. Amid all the state office buildings, you will find several more elks! To get there, continue on Interstate 5 North for about 10 miles, until you find the sign for J Street Downtown and Old Town Sacramento. Exit on J Street. At the end of the exit ramp, go straight (do NOT turn right toward "Old Town Parking").

Continue on J street to 13th Street. On your left, you will find Discover Gold by Steve Duroncelet, in front of the sponsoring Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1303 J Street.
         
Continue seven more blocks on J street, to 20th Street. In the parking lot behind the Sacramento News and Review at 1015 20th Street, you will find the flamboyant roller-skating rock star Elk-Ton John, Disco-Cruisin' Super Elk by Marianne Mancina et al, sponsored by the News and Review staff.

           
From J Street, make the first legal left turn, and go one block to I Street. Turn left on I Street, and continue about 8 or 9 blocks to 13th Street. In front of the California Arts Council at 1300 I Sreet, you will find Elk Scape: Spirit of the Herd by Stan Padilla.

This art council was very active in finding artists to decorate the elks, and sponsors to pay for and diaply them. If you ask the security guard at the Arts Council building nicely, he will give you a flyer all about the elk statues, and how you might sponsor one yourself.
Continue one more block down I Street, to 12th Street, and turn left on 12th Street. Continue two blocks down 12th Street to K Street. In front of sponsoring California Dental Association at 1201 K Street, you will find Fresh and Clean by Ken Siebert. This elk takes GREAT care of his teeth, and has a Hollywood-worthy smile!

       

From 12th and K, turn left on K Street. Continue one block on K Street, to 11th Street, and turn right on 11th. Continue two blocks on 11th to I Street, and turn left on I Street. Continue two blocks on I Street. At 9th and I Street, on your left you will find Sacramento Public Library. There is supposed to be an elk there named Elkie the Basketball Fan by Mike Jimena, sponsored by Maloof Sports and Entertainment. But as of August 9, 2002, this elk was not there yet, and none of the librarians I asked knew anything about it.

Continue on I Street, and it will lead you right up onto the ramp for Interstate 5 North (toward Reading). Continue on I-5 north until you see an exit for US 50 and Business 80. This exit is tricky: one fork leads you to US 50 and the other to Business 80. You want the exit that takes you on Business 80, and NOT on US 50.

Continue on Business 80 to the Arden Way exit. This exit also has two forks. Stay to the RIGHT on the Arden exit, and you will pass Arden Mall (Nordstom shopping center) on your left.

Continue about a block, until you see the Univision Channel 19 television studio at 1710 Arden Way. Channel 19 is the local Spanish-language TV station. In front of their studio is the Alma de Pueblo elk by Juanishi Orozco.

           

From the Univision TV studios, turn right on Arden Way and get in the left lane. As soon as you can, turn left into the Arden Mall, and turn left again in the mall parking lot. Park as close as you can to the Nordtrom store, and enter the mall through Nordtrom's. As you leave the Nordstrom store and enter into the mall itself, you will find two more elks inside the mall, in front of Nordtsrom's.

Duke Elkington by Eric Waugh was sponsored by Marcy & Mort Friedman and the Arden Fair Mall. It is decorated with musical themes relating to the jazz era.

           
Looking scholarly in his glasses, book dangling from his mouth, Merryhill ELK-ucation was created by Gretchen Ryan and sponsored by Merryhill Schools.

Great ELKspectations by Christy Savage, sponsored by Dixon Schwabl Advertising, Inc., is scheduled to join Duke Elkington and Merryhill ELK-ucation in front of Nordstrom's at Arden Mall, but as of August 10, 2002, neither the statue nor its platform has been delivered yet.

I am having a blast locating and photographing these elks. Still on my list to find and photo:

This accounts for 25 of the total of 50 elk statues. A few more of these unaccounted-for 25 elks were still in front of the warehouse near Highway 99 as of late July, 2002, awaiting stores to sponsor them, and local artists to paint them. Maybe some should be sent to display in ELKhart, Indiana?

Long live Elk mania!

Update, July 11, 2003: Sadly, all of the elk statues were removed from the Elk Grove area in the early months of 2003, and were sold off to collectors, museums, and so on. They are all now just a fond memory, and I never did get to find the other 25. But they will live on forever in memory in these photos!

After the other statues were removed, this one showed up at Kaiser-Permanente Hospital in Elk Grove (even though it was not on the original published list of statues), and it's still there to this day, the last reminder of Elk Grove's elk mania!