Built in 1989 as part of the “Centennial Celebration of Children,” the world’s largest Radio Flyer wagon is not just a sculpture to be viewed, but to be played on as well. The vintage toy replica stands 12 feet tall and is made of over 26 tons of concrete and steel. Children and adults alike are welcome to climb into the bed of the wagon, which is big enough to fit around 300 people. The giant white handle also acts as a slide so no one is tempted to just hop out of the towering toy. Simple red wagons may have lost some of their childhood cache over the years, but this larger-than-life icon of innocence does a fine job of transporting visitors back to the days when imagination was king. Sixteen-year-old Italian immigrant Antonio Pasin arrived in New York in 1914 carrying little else than the carpentry skills he had learned from his father and grandfather.
That kind of versatility has certainly given the iconic, fire hy‐ drant red Radio Flyer some serious staying power. The company has been around a full century, with roots stretch‐ ing back to the early 1900s when the future razor ride ons founder of the company, Antonio Pasin, arrived in America. Antonio was born in 1898 to a family of cabinetmakers that lived in a small town outside of Venice. Like many at the time, he dreamed of greater opportunities.
By this time, the company was a distinct anomaly in the U.S. toy industry, because it had remained privately owned and was still run by the family of its founder. Mario Pasin had succeeded his father Antonio, and Mario’s sons Robert and Paul also were involved in the firm. Larger companies had made competitive inroads in the wagon business. One competitor was Rubbermaid, mostly known for its kitchenware, but which produced a line of plastic wagons through its Little Tikes division.
Emand for Liberty Coasters was so high that Pasin abandoned his cabinetmaking ambitions to focus solely on the wagons. By 1923, he had begun working with steel instead of wood and painting the metal wagons bright red. The electric bikes, sold under the Flyer name, have only been around since last year, and they reinforce the family orientation. There are two models, both very retro styled, offering pedal assist and a throttle.
It’s super easy to fold up and can fit in tight spaces which is great when you’re headed to the park or on a road trip and this lightweight wagon makes it easy to transport and carry around from place to place. On any given day children and adults razor ride ons alike enjoy the slide. The Radio Flyer brand just celebrated its 100th birthday and the company commissioned a larger wagon that sits in downtown Chicago. The Spokane wagon has been voted by USA Today as the top roadside attraction in Washington.
“Her favorite thing to do when she is admitted is to go on wagon rides. That’s the one thing we can do every time to pass the time and to keep her happy and to help keep her as comfortable during treatments,” Laura said. Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.
He wanted to make a splash on the world stage and catapult Radio Flyer to iconic brand status. He even commissioned famous industrial designer Alfonso Iannelli to construct a 50-foot-tall sculpture of a boy riding a radio flyer wagon. Tubes on the Activity Loops toys can detach from the base releasing small plastic rings, posing a small parts choking hazard to children. Today, Radio Flyer boasts a plethora of products, including thenewly released mini Teslafor kids and a wagon customers can trick out with various sun canopies and seat cushions. The massive art deco structure housed a kiosk, inside of which Anna helped work a mini assembly line putting together tiny steel wagons that sold for just 25 cents each—$4.56 today.
Whether visitors left with a tiny wagon or not, they undoubtedly saw the impressive structure, and so couldn’t have left without some knowledge of the Radio Flyer. Fast forward to the 1950s, when Sputnik and “I Love Lucy” came on the scene. It was during this time, when fear of communism loomed, that the little red wagon cemented its status as an American icon. “Sooner or later you’ll have to buy the kids a big red coaster wagon. (This probably is a factor in their growing up to be 100% pure red-blooded American),” reads a 1953 ad in the Logansport Pharos-Tribune.