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All the United States Ohio Mentor Judy's Jungle

Judy's Jungle

A fiberglass jungle, deep in the wilds of the Cleveland suburbs.

Mentor, Ohio

Added By
Jasilyn
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Been Here
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The zebra family   coffeeandcleveland
The zebra family   coffeeandcleveland
Bison and camel   coffeeandcleveland
A couple of rhinos   TinySputniks / Atlas Obscura User
Tiger in charge   TinySputniks / Atlas Obscura User
Parrot’s eye view   TinySputniks / Atlas Obscura User
Is it an alligator or a crocodile?   TinySputniks / Atlas Obscura User
King of the Jungle?   coffeeandcleveland
Belle fell in the well   coffeeandcleveland
T-Rex   coffeeandcleveland
Judy started the Jungle in the early 1990s   TinySputniks / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
…or maybe not the heart. Wasp Nest   The Bearded Vagabond / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
Home is where the heart is…   The Bearded Vagabond / Atlas Obscura User
Praying mantis fenced in to protect other critters   ski queen / Atlas Obscura User
Nature is slowly reclaiming the sculptures.   Hetaira Thais / Atlas Obscura User
Judy Lane  
Quite overgrown now   joelisadinosaur / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
  PushingUpDaisies / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
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About

Mentor, Ohio is outside of Cleveland, a quiet suburb along Lake Erie. It was the home of President James A. Garfield, was ranked by CNN Money in 2010 as the 37th best places to live in the United States, and boasts the longest public swimming beach in all of Ohio. Along an industrial stretch near the railroad tracks there is even a jungle.

“Judy’s Jungle”, to be exact – a sprawling garden with a score of fiberglass animals, hiding in plain sight along the parking lot of local business MT Heat Treat. They’ve been in business for almost 50 years, and their garden has been in the fiberglass animal business for over 20. Creating the garden was a unique solution to a unique problem: the parking lot at the plant is short at one end, and in the winter trucks wouldn’t be able to tell where the lot ended and the deep snow began. They’d sometimes get stuck and need to be towed out. So owners O.V. Mathews and his wife Judy came to the lot’s rescue by planting a big garden in the back, so drivers could see where it ended.

Trees and shrubs didn’t seem like quite enough though, so they started adding some life-size fiberglass creatures. No particular reason – they just liked them. One by one, they turned the garden into “Judy’s Jungle”, where you’re welcome to visit and see the animals. Most of them are true to size, but there are a couple of exceptions – a giant praying mantis for one, and pretty friendly-looking T-Rex. He’s been arguing with the lion lately over who is really the King of the Jungle.    

Related Tags

Gardens Animals Statues Outsider Art Plants

Know Before You Go

Follow Mentor Ave east out of town and take a left on Jackson St. Go about a mile and a half and turn left onto Station Street. The garden will be on your right, next to the MT Heat Treat parking lot. Sadly, it is not very well maintained, with weeds everywhere.

Community Contributors

Added By

TinySputniks

Edited By

PushingUpDaisies, Hetaira Thais, joelisadinosaur, ski queen...

  • PushingUpDaisies
  • Hetaira Thais
  • joelisadinosaur
  • ski queen
  • The Bearded Vagabond
  • djshaw07

Published

May 6, 2016

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Sources
  • http://coffeeandcleveland.blogspot.com/2015/07/judys-jungle.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentor,_Ohio
Judy's Jungle
MT Heat Treat
8665 Station Street
Mentor, Ohio, 44060
United States
41.680564, -81.32993
Visit Website
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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ohio

Ohio

United States

Places 232
Stories 22

Nearby Places

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Willoughby, Ohio

miles away

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ohio

Ohio

United States

Places 232
Stories 22

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