When travelling down the QEW in Beamsville, it is hard to miss the two giant statues of elephants on the side of the road. These elephants are actually an advertisement and a decoration for Irongate Garden Elements, the store where the elephants are located. Although the elephants are the most noticeable from the highway, there are many more large statues further back, including a couple lions, a golden horse, many garden urns, and a gazebo.

There were originally five elephants lined up alongside the QEW. But by October 2021, three of the five elephant statues had been taken away, most likely because the store sold them. When these photos were taken (late fall 2021), only one of the biggest and one of the smallest elephants remained, but hopefully the rest of the family will continue to be replaced after they are sold. Despite the missing statues, the two remaining elephants are still quite interesting and fun to admire on a trip down the QEW in Niagara.

Each elephant is made of bronze, and modelled in incredible detail. The large elephant pictured here is about 2.85m long, 1.19m wide, and 2.13m tall. The small elephant is about 2.21m long, 0.66m wide, and 0.96m high. The missing elephants included one more large adult elephant, and two more small baby elephants. Each one had their trunk raised in a slightly different way so that they looked like they were cheerfully parading across the lawn. Although these statues are interesting just by themselves, it can be especially fun to see them multiple times throughout the year, as the owners will often dress the elephants with holiday decorations depending on the season.

This street view of the elephants was taken in March, 2021. At this time, four of the five elephants were still remaining.

When looking at the elephants from the highway or service road, you will see a furniture store called Jansen Furniture, but the statues themselves belong to a business called IronGate Garden Elements, which can be found on the west side of that same building. This store specializes in selling cast iron garden products, as well as bronze statues and fountains. They have a wide variety of statues in stock, but you can also visit them online - and get a sneak peak at these elephants - at IronGateGE.ca.

Iron Gate. "Bronze Elephant Family Statues Life Size." IronGate Garden Elements, http://www.irongatege.ca/product/bronze-elephant-family-statues/.