Photos: The Big Chicken through the years

Metro Atlanta

Photos: The Big Chicken through the years

The Big Chicken KFC in Marietta has stood in Cobb County since 1963.

The Big Chicken is a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Marietta on February 2, 2011. The landmark features a 56-foot-tall (17 m) steel-sided structure designed in the appearance of a chicken rising up from the top of the building. It is located at one of the city's biggest intersection of Cobb Parkway (U.S. 41) and Roswell Road (Georgia 120).

Storm damage to the Big Chicken in Marietta, Ga., on January 5, 1993. The front entrance of the five-story landmark in Marietta was cordoned off in case any more pieces of the big bird's body came flying off.

Demonstrators Patty Grate Clark and Karen Tucker rallying to save the Atlanta landmark the Big Chicken, damaged in a storm earlier in this month, Marietta, Ga., January 26, 1993. KFC will announce whether it will rebuild the Big Chicken, which was damaged earlier in the month.

Bare framework of the Big Chicken during its disassembly following a major storm damage in Marietta, Ga., on January 13, 1993.

Construction workers Billy Lankford and Richard Spears oversee the disassembly of the Big Chicken following major storm damage earlier in the year in Marietta, Ga., on September 27, 1993. The Cobb County landmark would be disassembled completely over the next few days, but would reappear in about three months as the Kentucky Fried Chicken along U.S. 41 is renovated.

A piece of the Big Chicken's beak following major storm damage earlier in the year in Marietta, Ga, on September 27, 1993.

Construction worker Richard Spears disassembles the beak of the Big Chicken following major storm damage earlier in the year in Marietta, Ga., on September 27, 1993.

Infant Josiah Mize wearing a "Big Chicken" costume with his grandfather, Donnie Edwards, at the grand reopening of the landmark Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant with the Big Chicken in Marietta, Georgia, on January 26, 1994.

Tom Palmer, CEO of Big Chicken Enterprises, a holding company for the Big Chicken Gift Shop, poses outside The Big Chicken on Friday, August 15, 1997. The Big Chicken Gift Shop would officially open on Saturday and sell all sorts of Big Chicken memorabilia, such as bird houses, clocks, folk art and Christmas ornaments.

Marietta's famous landmark, The Big Chicken, is getting a fresh coat of paint on September 24, 1997. Jerry Overby of Westminster, Maryland, paints the white area below the chicken's beak and head.

A paint crew gets ready to restore the Big Chicken on June 11, 2008. The project will help reverse the effects the sun and other elements have had on the famous landmark.

Painter Leonid Chubarov, of Kentucky-based Peabody Painting and Pressure Washing, helps put some finishing paint touches on the Big Chicken on June 25, 2008. The chicken is located at the corner of Cobb Parkway and Roswell Road in Marietta. When done painting, the chicken's iris will again be black and its beak bright yellow. The 3-week project will help reverse the effects the sun and other elements have had on the famous landmark.

But will they change the team name to the Big Chickens?

Painter Leonid Chubarov, of Kentucky-based Peabody Painting and Pressure Washing, helps put some finishing paint touches on the Big Chicken on June 25, 2008. The chicken is located at the corner of Cobb Parkway and Roswell Road in Marietta. When done painting, the chicken's iris will again be black and its beak bright yellow. The 3-week project will help reverse the effects the sun and other elements have had on the famous landmark.

The Big Chicken looms over traffic on an I-75 overpass during a heavy rainstorm in Marietta, Ga., on March 26, 2009.

The Big Chicken in Marietta, Ga., on February 2, 2011.

The Big Chicken in Marietta, Ga., on June 10, 2013.

The Big Chicken is barely visible as snow falls late Wednesday afternoon on Cobb Parkway. (CHRISTIAN BOONE / CBOONE@AJC.COM)

Morning commute traffic along US 41 at Roswell Rd. in Marietta, Ga., on July 16, 2015. Traffic congestion will not be improved along U.S. 41, even after Cobb County builds a controversial $500 million transit project known as bus rapid transit, a report found.

And lest we forget, there's The Big Chicken. The landmark, fronting a Marietta Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, features a 56-foot-tall steel-sided structure. It is located at one of the city's biggest intersection of Cobb Parkway (U.S. 41) and Roswell Road (Georgia 120). So well-known is the giant fowl that Atlanta traffic reporters simply refer to tie-ups as being at "The Big Chicken" -- and locals know exactly where they're talking about.

1/20

The Big Chicken is a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Marietta on February 2, 2011. The landmark features a 56-foot-tall (17 m) steel-sided structure designed in the appearance of a chicken rising up from the top of the building. It is located at one of the city's biggest intersection of Cobb Parkway (U.S. 41) and Roswell Road (Georgia 120).

Today's Gallery Headlines

Coca-Cola first ad

PHOTOS: Coca-Cola ads over time

Alonzo Herndon

PHOTOS: Philanthropists leave mark on Atlanta

gainesville, thomas county central

PHOTOS: Thomas County Central pummels Gainesville for 5A state title

jefferson, sandy creek

PHOTOS: Sandy Creek defeats Jefferson for Class 3A championship

More Galleries

People are silhouetted against a huge Pride flag before the start of the Atlanta Pride Parade on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Photos: Atlanta Pride Parade 2025

Splish Splash Doggie Bash at Piedmont Park

Photos: Splish Splash Doggie Bash at Piedmont Park

Fallen Dekalb County Firefighter Preston Fant arrives at West Cobb Funeral Home

PHOTOS: Fallen DeKalb firefighter honored with processional through metro Atlanta

Dragon Con Parade

PHOTOS: Dragon Con Parade 2025 brings out colorful characters