Lucy Ricardo is personified in two statues in Lucille Ball’s hometown. One is delightful. The other made international news for being so terrible.
Meet Scary Lucy.
This statue was unveiled in 2009. The creation of sculptor David Poulin, it depicts Lucy while she famously becomes intoxicated while pitching for Vitameatavegamin.
The statue is terrible. It looks nothing like Lucy and has become known as Scary Lucy.
In 2016, the community rallied and had a new statue made – this one created by artist Caroline Palmer.
Meet Lovely Lucy.
She really is lovely. This one depicts a truer to life Lucy, animated and full of movement. She’s quite realistic.
Both can be found in Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celeron, New York on the shore of Lake Chautauqua. Lucille was born in neighboring Jamestown but spent her teenage years in a house down the street here in Celeron.
Want to see the statues? Take the Lucytown Tour!
No visit to Jamestown, New York would be complete without a stop at the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum. Here you’ll find recreated sets, original costumes, props, home movies and more. They even have Emmy Awards representing the career of this famous pair and the show that catapulted them to television infamy.
Then there was Lucille Ball’s 1972 Mercedes Benz.
Plus the saxophone she learned to play for the show and the burlap dress Ricky had made for Lucy in Paris.
One of my favorite features was the home movies of Lucy and Desi when they were young and happy. The marriage didn’t end well so it’s nice to think they were happy at one time.
They relate some of Desi’s story too. He was born into a family of political power and wealth – his father was mayor of his hometown and his mother was a Bacardi Rum heiress. Political upheaval forced them to flee and start a new life in this country where he faced racism while building an empire and 
I also especially enjoyed the recreated sets of their New York apartment and the Hollywood Hotel where the Ricardos stayed while Ricky was filming a movie.
In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience here. Because this was the most important thing I wanted to do in Jamestown, I bought my ticket online before I left and arrived when they first opened at 10 a.m. to avoid any crowds. Turns out, there was no crowd at all – just me and a handful of others who seemed happy to wear their masks, use the hand sanitizer provided and stay away from others.
America’s favorite redhead was born in Jamestown, New York. This small city in the western part of the state is where she spent her early years and like many small town young people – she spent a lot of that time dreaming of her escape.
There are two statues of the famous comedian. One is beautiful, the other not so much. That’s a story for another day!
You can drive past her birthplace and childhood home as well. Both are private residences but passersby are welcome to pull over for a quick photo. I read that someone has purchased the childhood home with intentions of opening it as a museum but there was no activity afoot last week.
All of this can be done in a day and the museum provides a driving tour to make it easier. They call it the Lucytown tour and you can view it