It's been a while since I posted on here about my city.  Despite my constant insistence that I live in the North Pole, I do actually live in a pretty cool piece of American History.   My city has many claims to fame.  We are known as the Collar City because at one time, it was the center of a very specific textile production for the area.  Shirt collars.  Which at the time, were detachable.  We are also known for our stunning iron works.  And the largest Flag Day parade in America (of course it helps if you first realize Flag Day is an actual day).  As well as having the most L. C. Tiffany designs in the world.  And...we are known for being the home of Uncle Sam.

Welcome to Troy, NY.  Where everything is a claim to fame, all are debatable, and none really make us famous.  Oh...and of course...it's as cold as the stinkin' North Pole.




But this past Friday, my fair city stepped it up a notch by debuting The Uncle Sam Project!  Like the pandas in DC, pigs in Seattle, horses in Saratoga, and so on, we now are the proud owners (until Fall when they are auctioned off as the fundraiser) of 30 delightfully decorated Uncle Sams.




Above is a tribute to our beloved Tiffany claim to fame.  And below is the Uncle Sam in front of the Troy Music Hall.  I love his piano pants.






This Sam is nothing short of amazing.  Which is saying a lot because in general, I am not a big fan of birds.  But he is hand painted with the most beautiful detail of every local bird.  And his back (below), also includes Uncle Sam's grave marker.  That's the artist with the purple shirt and short hair.






This Sam was so cute in quilted material and jeans.






And now for my top two.  This was done by an Indian tribe and the detail was just stunning.  The face was painted to look like carved wood!  I missed what and why but they did some sort of Indian ceremony to or at or for this statue.






And my other top Sam was the money man.  Gold bars for a top hat, copper face, dollar bill jacket, silver vault pants, standing on a gold coin platform and by far my favorite detail was...






He was wearing penny loafers....WITH PENNIES!  I just died.  Such a cute touch!

The artist was incredibly nice.  All of them were.  Most were standing next to the statues during Troy Night Out to take photos and answer questions and tell you about their work.  It was just fabulous to see the community so engaged and excited by this project.




For local readers, I hope you will take time to walk through town to enjoy The Uncle Sam Project.  It's by far the coolest thing Troy has done since I've lived here.  It's a great way to see the city!