Lauterbach Giant

Springfield Illinois is an incredible treasure trove of roadside Americana - vintage signs, neon, gas stations, diners, and of course, muffler men! The Lauterbach Giant is a Paul Bunyon style muffler man. Today he is missing his axe, but on special occasions he holds an American flag instead.

The Lauterbach Giant has been on a few road trips of his own. In 1961 he made his first stop at Midtown Tires in Springfield. That business only lasted a year, so in 1962 the muffler man made his way to the Roundup Motel and gas station in Farmersville Illinois. He lived at the Roundup Motel for 16 years, until that business closed down in 1978.  He was then bought back to Springfield to Dave Lewis’s Vehicle Wheels and Tires. That business changed hands a few times, but each new owner proudly provided a home for the roadside muffler man. The business is currently owned by the Lauterbach family, who have officially adopted the muffler man, naming him The Lauterbach Giant, and writing his name down his pants leg!

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Midwest USA No. 26 -last visited October 2023