Local News

Brookline to honor their wild turkey friends with 10 new sculptures

The painted fiberglass sculptures will be placed in neighborhoods, T stops, and libraries in the town.

A wild turkey tom (male) crosses the sidewalk on Beacon Street. Mark Wilson/Globe

February 25, 2024

1 minute to read

Brookline is waving the white flag and honoring their wild turkey neighbors with 10 fiberglass statues to be installed this year.

Brookline’s new initiative “Turkeys Around Town,” announced earlier this month, was inspired by the cow statues parading around Boston last summer. Brookline’s new turkey sculptures will ornament the town’s train stops, libraries, and neighborhoods.

Wild turkeys — blocking streets and sometimes breaking and entering in the Boston area — are known for frequenting Brookline. Now, with funding from Brookline’s COVID relief, they’ll be a fixture in the town’s commercial districts.

The painted turkeys joining the town this spring will be at the Brookline Village MBTA stop, Coolidge Corner Plaza, the Washington Square stop, the St. Mary’s stop, and at Washington and Walnut Streets on Route 9.

Five more will join in the fall. Those turkeys will grace Centre Street lot in Coolidge Corner, the FRR School Green on Harvard Street, and the Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner, and Putterham Circle libraries.

Brookline is asking for artists to apply by the end of March to design and paint birds that will “add a touch of whimsy and charm.” The commission pays $1,000 and is open to all artists.