The Big Duck isn’t just a giant bird-shaped building; it’s a symbol of Long Island’s farming history and a pioneering example of “novelty architecture.” If you’ve driven past it, chances are you’ve wondered about its story. Here are some fun facts about this legendary landmark:
- Standing 20 feet tall and stretching 30 feet long, the Big Duck is made of ferroconcrete and weighs roughly 30 tons.
- Martin Maurer, a duck farmer, built it in 1931 to attract customers for his duck eggs and poultry business.
- Broadway set designers, the Collins Brothers, designed it, while local craftsmen George Reeve, John Smith, and Merlin Yeager brought it to life.
- Its eyes are actually repurposed Model T Ford taillights!
- The duck is modeled after the Pekin duck, a species that put Long Island’s duck farmers on the map.
- Originally located in Riverhead, it was moved to Flanders in the late 1930s, then temporarily to Hampton Bays in the 1980s to save it from demolition, and finally back to Flanders.
- In the 1930s, Suffolk County boasted about 90 duck farms, with Long Island’s duck industry so prominent that a “Duck Queen Pageant” was held in 1962 at the Elks Lodge in Riverhead.
- Every holiday season, the Big Duck is adorned with a festive wreath and lit up during a Christmas ceremony held on the first Wednesday in December.
- In 1997, it earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, cementing its place in Long Island history.
- The term “duck” in architecture, meaning a building shaped like what it sells, was inspired by the Big Duck. This concept was popularized in the 1972 book Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi.
The Big Duck isn’t just a building—it’s a piece of Long Island’s quirky charm and a reminder of its agricultural roots. Want to learn more? Check out the Friends of The Big Duck website for history, events, and more!
Photo: By Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71374390
