Iron Man (Minnesota statue) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Iron Man |
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The statue in 2009
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| Artist | Jack E. Anderson |
| Year | 1987 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Iron |
| Location | Chisholm, Minnesota |
| 47°28′53″N 92°53′46″W / 47.48139°N 92.89618°W | |
The Iron Man statue is a huge sculpture of a miner made from iron. It stands proudly at the entrance of the Minnesota Discovery Center near Chisholm, Minnesota. This impressive statue is about 85 feet (26 meters) tall! The actual miner figure is 36 feet (11 meters) tall, sitting on a 49-foot (15-meter) steel base.
The statue was finished in 1987 by Jack E. Anderson. It is a special way to honor the hard-working men who dug for iron ore in the open pit mines. This was when the mining business was very busy in the Iron Range area of northern Minnesota. The full name of this artwork is The Emergence of Man Through Steel.
Creating the Iron Man Statue
The Iron Man statue was designed and built by Jack E. Anderson. He is an artist from Lake Linden, Michigan. Anderson also created another famous sculpture of Bishop Baraga in L'Anse, Michigan.
What the Statue Represents
Jack E. Anderson explained that the way the miner stands shows how tired a person would feel after a long day of working in the mines. It reminds everyone of the tough work miners did.
The Miner's Face
The face of the Iron Man statue was made to look like a real miner named Daniel Tolonen. He was an immigrant from Finland who lived and is buried in Chisholm, Minnesota.
On July 4, 1987, the statue was officially dedicated. Daniel Tolonen was there with five generations of his family! Important people like Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich and U.S. Representative James Oberstar also spoke at the event.
