a newspaper man adjusts his pen

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Rhino on roof


Highland Tire Co. in Southwestern Pennsylvania boasts that it’s “not your ordinary tire dealer.” And that goes without saying just by looking at its headquarters in Tarentum, a small borough where steel was once forged near Pittsburgh.

A giant rhinoceros is perched atop the roof, facing west toward the Ohio River and Tarentum Bridge. The roadside attraction was made of an unknown composition and put there nearly 50 years ago to represent the logo of Armstrong Tire and Rubber Co. The unusual advertisement was taken down a year ago for repairs, given fresh coat of paint and returned to the roof on a new wooden platform.

No one, apparently, took the time to measure the beast while it was on the ground. "It's big," the company spokesman said.

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