Rockport's original Big Blue Crab started out on the Del Mar Grill on Austin Street. In 1957, the Grill was run by Dorothy and Sal Silverman, and the specialty was Dorothy's famous crab cakes. The Big Crab was 18 feet wide and 22 feet deep and was made of rebar, chicken wire, and papier mache'.
The Crab weathered both hurricanes Carla in 1961 and Beulah in 1967. In 1965, the Grill closed and the Chamber of Commerce bought the Crab for $200. It was to be used as a background for photographs and put on the trailer for parades (to promote Rockport).
In October 1966, the Crab was moved to Veterans Memorial Park by the harbor. In 1969, a winter Texan repainted the Crab, and the Crab became a female as the tips of the pinchers were painted red. The Crab survived hurricane Celia ion 1970, but it had deteriorated and finally had to be taken down in 1976.
From October 2011 to August 2012, local artist David Allgood constructed a new crab, using aluminum rods and tubing, screen, resin, and matting. It is bigger than the original, at 25 feet wide (side legs) by 27 feet deep.
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