Iconic giraffe statue to return to Meijer gas station

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18 — Fear not, Lansing: The giraffe that has been perched atop the Meijer Express Gas Station on Saginaw Highway for decades may be gone, but it will definitely return.

The iconic statue was removed amid renovations yesterday, sending shock waves across social media from hundreds of local residents. An online petition to “put the Meijer giraffe back on the gas station or so help me” has garnered nearly 500 signatures overnight.

But it’s all for naught. 

Meijer plans to hoist the giraffe back atop the gas station in “a couple months” when the project is finished, store staff told City Pulse this morning. In the meantime, the beloved statute will remain caged on the premises, patiently waiting for its return to glory on Lansing’s west side. 

“We’ve had so many people asking about it,” a clerk told this reporter earlier today. “It’s wild.”

The origins of the giraffe statue aren’t totally clear, according to store officials. Calls to Meijer corporate offices were not immediately returned. But local lore offers a variety of explanations.

One online blog claims the statue was installed on the roof in the late 1970s or early 1980s and was once part of a series of animals that were used to mark parking lot sections to help customers remember where they parked. The store eventually shifted to letter signs instead.

Lansing Facts also proposed another satirical explanation: The giraffe is a tribute to founder Fred Meijer’s pet giraffe, Gerold. And the reason the stores have such high ceilings? Because Fred used to ride his giraffe around the grocery stores during their annual inspections.

It appears nobody is entirely sure about the origins of the giraffe. City Pulse has assembled a team of crack reporters to help track down the actual history of the statute. Stay tuned.