The Long Island Iconic Big Duck Photograph by John Telfer

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The Long Island Iconic Big Duck

by John Telfer

Canvas Print

$75

Framed Print

$84

Art Print

$28

Poster

$28

Metal Print

$81

Acrylic Print

$89

Wood Print

$61

Tapestry

$41

Throw Pillow

$25

Fleece Blanket

$48

Duvet Cover

$99

Shower Curtain

$68

Bath Towel

$35

Ornament

$9.50

Jigsaw Puzzle

$38

Tote Bag

$26

Weekender Tote Bag

$43

Zip Pouch

$25

Portable Battery Charger

$47

Yoga Mat

$60

Greeting Card

$8.90

Spiral Notebook

$15

Sticker

$3.50

iPhone Case

$27

Beach Towel

$35

Round Beach Towel

$70

Weekender Tote Bag

$43

Coffee Mug

$14

Men's Clothing

$26

Women's Clothing

$26

Youth Clothing

$22

Toddler Clothing

$20

Baby Clothing

$24

Title

The Long Island Iconic Big Duck

Artist

John Telfer

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

FAA WATERCOLOR MARKS WILL NOT APPEAR ON FINAL SALES
While visiting some relatives in Flanders Long Island which is located on the eastern part of Long Island, I found out they lived minutes from the Iconic Big Duck of Long Island. As a teenager I used to go out to the Hamptons and Montauk with my friends and we must have seen the famous Big Duck a hundred times but I do not have one picture of it until this past weekend. On my last day of staying for the weekend with my relatives we took a ride over to the main road so I could take several photos of the Big Duck, the sky was a little cloudy but I thought it looked perfect with this monster size white duck towering into the sky. I was happy with my photos and I decided on this one because you can see the entrance doorway to enter the store of the Big Duck. For more information on the Iconic Big Duck of Long Island please feel free to read below;
The Big Duck is a ferrocement building in the shape of a duck located in Flanders, New York, on Long Island. It was originally built in 1931 by duck farmer Martin Maurer in nearby Riverhead, and used as a shop to sell ducks and duck eggs. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. It is a principal building on the Big Duck Ranch, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Owner Martin Maurer had The Big Duck building constructed in 1930 and 1931 on a prime spot on the busy Main Street in the town of Riverhead on Long Island, New York. The builders Smith and Yeager completed the concrete finish work on the Big Duck which was featured in Atlas Cement's 1931 calendar. Merlin Yeager noted that most of the duck is actually finished with Portland Cement, but they ran out and finished with Atlas Cement. The Big Duck was also featured in Popular Mechanics magazine.[citation needed]

In 1937, Martin Maurer moved the building four miles (6 km) southeast to Flanders, where it occupied a prominent location near the duck barns and marshes of Maurer's new duck ranch. The entire area, including Flanders and Riverhead, was the center of Long Island's well-known duck-farming industry. By 1939 there were about 90 duck farms in Suffolk County.[4]

Signage on NY 24 before the Duck
The Big Duck's unusual building and prime location helped garner much customer attention until it closed in 1984. In 1988, Suffolk County acquired The Big Duck and moved it to Route 24 on the edge of Sears-Bellows Pond County Park between Flanders and Hampton Bays on the eastern part of Long Island. The building houses a gift shop operated by the Friends for Long Island Heritage.[4] In 2004, there was a movement to move the duck to Long Island MacArthur Airport[5], but the duck was returned to its Flanders location on October 6, 2007.[6] Suffolk County continues to own it, maintains its interior and pays for staffing; Southampton Town maintains the exterior. The original 27-acre (110,000 m2) duck farm was purchased by the town in 2006.[7][8]

Christie Brinkley lent her voice to a tape greeting for visitors.[9]

The Big Duck was used as a setting in a sketch from Between the Lions called Moby Duck, a parody of Moby Dick. In this sketch, the duck was named Moby, and two sailors were enlisted on a voyage to search for the duck, although it was right behind the whole time.
As of November 2017, for the past 29 years [10] at Christmas time, the Big Duck has been lit up with Christmas lights placed along a giant wreath which hangs around the duck's neck. Local residents hold a Christmas lighting ceremony each year when the lights are turned on, and the ceremony is covered by local news.
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