In 1984 the statue of Chicken Boy was removed from the roof over the Chicken Boy restaurant, which had recently closed. Amy Inouye campaigned to save the roadside icon and eventually acquired it and put it into storage. Unable to find a proper new public home for him, he languished in storage for 23 years. Upon moving to Highland Park, plans and permits were secured to install Mr. Boy on top of her office on Figueroa Street, where he found a permanent roost in 2007. A true grassroots preservation effort, the Story of Chicken Boy won first place as the 2009 California Preservation Foundation’s Three-Minute Success Story. The dedication to preserving this icon on Route 66 – where it originally had its home – is truly commendable and very well deserving of the 2009-2010 award.
