'Woodpecker Column' – Toronto, Ontario - Atlas Obscura
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'Woodpecker Column'

Toronto, Ontario

The giant birds honor two native North American species. 

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Woodpecker Column Heather Harvey/CC BY-SA 2.0
Woodpecker Column Heather Harvey/CC BY-SA 2.0
Pileated Woodpecker Dennis Jarvis/CC BY-SA 2.0
Woodpeckers is a nearby sculpture that's 30 meters high. jbartlett2000 (Atlas Obscura User)
They can be seen, even when the CN Tower is shrouded in fog. jbartlett2000 (Atlas Obscura User)
Higher up is a pileated woodpecker. jbartlett2000 (Atlas Obscura User)
The column was raised in 1997. jbartlett2000 (Atlas Obscura User)
The yellow-billed sapsucker is lower down; both are native to Canada. jbartlett2000 (Atlas Obscura User)
Walking around downtown Toronto and couldn’t resist a mini quest to find the woodpecker statue.
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Standing tall in the shadow of the CN Tower, Toronto’s extremely popular tourist attraction, is a rather overlooked piece of art. Take a good look at “Woodpecker Column,” and you’ll spot two charming birds catching your eye with their bright colors, even when the tower is shrouded in fog.

The 98-foot-tall (30 meters) black steel column was created by Fastwürms, a Canadian artist collective, and installed in 1997. The piece is freckled with round holes so it resembles a tree trunk its two avian residents have routinely hammered.

The birds are over 6.5 feet (two meters) tall. One is a yellow-bellied sapsucker, the other a pileated woodpecker. Both species are native to Canada and the United States.

Know Before You Go

The column sits to the East of the Aquarium and South of the Convention Center.  As you walk along Lower Simcoe towards the Lake, it can be seen on your left.

columns public art birds animals art
Nearby
Rock of the Matterhorn
0.11 miles
CN Tower Stairs
0.12 miles
Simcoe Park 'Worker's Monument'
0.15 miles
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