"The world’s largest tiger statue is a massive sculpture of Brenau University’s mascot, the Golden Tiger. It was created by Greg Johnson in 2013 and funded by Ike Belk, a fan of the university’s sports teams," the A-Z Animals says.

"The tiger is named Lucille after the wife of a former president of Brenau. It stands eight feet tall, 14 feet long, and weighs over a ton. It is located in a small park in Gainesville, Georgia, near the intersection of Hwy 60 and Academy St. NW.

"If there’s one thing that Georgia isn’t known for, it’s tigers. Still, the 14-foot-long, 8-foot-tall tiger statue named Lucille may change that! The total weight of the bronze statue is around 2,200 lbs, meaning it easily clears a ton. The statue is a somewhat recent addition to the state and was created in 2013 by an artist, Greg Johnson."

"Cumming, Ga.,-based sculptor Greg Johnson, who has completed about 20 of the sculptures on Belk’s commissions, says he is fairly certain that the Brenau piece is the largest of its kind in the United States, and has a degree of confidence the claim will stand worldwide, too<" the Brenau Window says.

"The 2,200-pound tiger is 7 feet 6 inches tall and 14 feet long. It was cast by Eagle Bronze, Inc., of Lander, Wyo. The piece finished the last leg of the cross-country journey on a trailer pulled by a heavy-duty pick-up truck so it could be lifted gently with straps and lowered onto a granite base by a crane.

"Brenau installed the tiger statue in a small, park-like plaza near the intersection of Academy Street and Green Street, one of Gainesville’s busiest thoroughfares. Before the formal dedication, probably sometime in late summer or early fall, Brenau plans to re-landscape the area to convert it into a new front entrance for the university’s main campus in the historic section of the city."

"Brenau University is a private university with its historic campus in Gainesville, Georgia. Founded in 1878, the university enrolls more than 2,800 students from approximately 48 states and 17 foreign countries who seek degrees ranging from associate through doctoral degrees.

"The main campus of the Georgia-based institution includes the Brenau Women's College. Brenau also offers another location in Norcross, Georgia.

"Brenau's 57-acre main campus is located in Gainesville, Georgia, approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Brenau University maintains day, evening, weekend and online programs at the main campus in Gainesville, and in Norcross, Georgia." (Wikipedia)

"The Golden Tiger is the mascot of Brenau University which is near this bronze statue," the Roadside Architecture says.



"It was sculpted by Gregory Johnson and installed in 2013. It is 14 feet long. The statue was named Lucile as a tribute to Lucile Townsend Pearce, the wife of a previous University president."

"Since 2012, Brenau’s College of Education has partnered with local elementary schools to publish “Tiger Tales,” a book full of elementary students’ stories and art," the Brenau University says.

"Brenau’s education students work alongside a class of elementary schoolers to help them write short stories and create illustrations, all of which feature Lucile the Tiger, the largest golden tiger bronze statue in the world that sits on Brenau’s historic Gainesville campus. At the end of the school year, all of the elementary school students receive their own copy of “Tiger Tales.”



"Tiger Tales doesn’t just offer local elementary students a piece of memorabilia they’ll treasure for the rest of their lives, it also gives Brenau students a chance to work in a classroom of students and help them nurture their talents. Education students work with the children they’re assigned to, helping them edit their work and create a cohesive story."

"She arrived in Gainesville at 7 feet, 6 inches tall, 14 feet long and weighing 2,200 pounds Friday afternoon at the intersection of Green and Academy streets, one of Gainesville’s heaviest-trafficked sites," the Gainesville Times says.

"Her birthplace is Cumming, from the mind of sculptor Gregory Johnson. Her delivery was more than 1,800 miles away in the small town of Lander, Wyo., where Monte Paddleford, president of Eagle Bronze Inc., who also holds a degree in metallurgy, molded her into a mammoth bronze statue."

"Donated by North Carolina philanthropist Irwin “Ike” Belk, the one-ton bronze sculpture represents the Brenau mascot and pays homage to its history. Georgia-based artist Gregory Johnson produced the piece," the Brenau University Galleries says.

"Fun fact There was a contest amongst the Brenau community to name the tiger. It is named in honor of Brenau's Lucile Townsend Pearce, Brenau's first female chief executive (1943)."