We rolled into Alma, Arkansas, in 2022 on a mission: find the World’s Largest Spinach Can. We’d seen it listed on roadside attraction sites, added it to our bucket list, and made the trek. (Truth be told, Zach’s parents live near Alma, so we were there to visit them!) Except when we got there, we found the water tower had been painted over – no spinach can, just a regular tower. (You can read the full mystery of what happened to it here.)
But while we came for a giant metal can, we ended up face-to-face with a giant bronze Popeye statue!
The Happy Accident – Popeye’s Garden
We walked through the gates and couldn’t help but be transported back to our childhood .. “Toot Toot, I’m Popeye, the sailor man” playing on repeat in our brains.
When we told my parents we were back in Alma, Arkansas, my dad said “Go say hi to Popeye for me” .. and we did .. took updated video and pictures…even staged a hilarious photo of Zach “holding” me above his head!
Popeye’s Garden is a tiny public park tucked into the corner of Fayetteville Avenue and Walnut Street in downtown Alma. In the center, a bronze Popeye statue stands proudly in a fountain, quietly stealing the show.
The Bronze Popeye
The centerpiece of the park is the bronze Popeye fountain, installed in 2007. But it’s actually a replacement.
The original Popeye statue was made of fiberglass and papier-mâché and was erected in 1987 when Alma declared itself the “Spinach Capital of the World.” That statue kept getting stolen – so much so that the city eventually offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was taking it.
Eventually, they replaced it with this bronze version, which is much harder to walk off with. The original statue still exists somewhere in storage, but the bronze Popeye is what you’ll see today – standing proudly in his fountain, spinach can in hand.
What Else Is There
Beyond Popeye himself, the garden features:
- Gazebos where you can sit and rest
- A town mural painted on the side of an adjacent building – it’s not Popeye-themed, just a nice depiction of Alma
- Well-kept landscaping and walkways
It’s not a huge destination, but it’s pleasant. The kind of place that’s nice to walk through if you’re in downtown Alma anyway.
Who Should Visit
Popeye fans? Absolutely stop here. The bronze statue is well-done and makes for great photos.
Passing through Alma? Worth a quick stop if you’re already in the area. It’ll take you 10-15 minutes to walk around, snap some photos, and sit in a gazebo. And while you are there, walk across the street and check out the memorial to one of Bonnie & Clyde’s victims – Henry D. Humphrey
Going out of your way for it? Probably not, unless you’re a serious Popeye collector or roadside attraction completist.
But if you’re hunting for the World’s Largest Spinach Can (spoiler: it’s gone), at least you’ll find Popeye’s Garden as a consolation prize. And honestly? It’s the better find anyway.
Visiting Popeye’s Garden
Location: Corner of Fayetteville Avenue and Walnut Street, Alma, Arkansas
Cost: Free
Hours: Open to the public
You can find more information about Popeye’s Garden and other Alma parks on the Town of Alma’s parks page.