The World's Largest Office Chair is a
roadside attraction
A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboard (advertis ...
in
Anniston,
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
.
Description
The World's Largest Office Chair is tall, wide, and weighs .
History
Leonard "Sonny" Miller, the owner of Miller's Office Supply, sought to build the chair to attract attention to his furniture business. The chair was modeled off of an office chair from
The HON Company
The HON Company designs and manufactures office furniture including chairs, cubicals, tables, desks and education furniture. Headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, it has manufacturing facilities located throughout the United States and China, and ...
with the dimensions of the chair converted from inches to feet. Construction of the chair took place in 1981 at the empty lot next to the furniture showroom. The chair was built using 10 tons of steel, 15 tons of cement, and can withstand winds. A spiral staircase was also built to bring people up to the square seat.
Construction of the chair was completed in May 1981.
In 1982, the chair was certified by ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
'' as the world's largest chair. Despite claims that the chair was officially recognized as the world's largest office chair, this record was never recognized by ''Guinness World Records'' and a sign displayed on the chair only lists it official recognition as the world's largest chair in 1982.
Despite the recognition as the world's largest chair by ''Guinness'',
Bassett Furniture built a
Mission chair under the claim of the world's largest chair until the city of Anniston publicly refuted the company. Bassett Furniture then altered the claim on their chair to the "world's largest chair the on tour". In 1995, the title of world's largest chair was passed to a seven-story chair in
Manzano,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, but the Anniston chair unofficially retained the title of the world's largest office chair.
After the chair was built, it became a major landmark for the city of Anniston. The
chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
would fly visiting businessmen over the chair. During the 1990s, Miller's moved across town with the lot housing the chair placed up for sale. The spiral staircase to the seat was also removed. After years of little maintenance, the chair became weathered and rusty. Years later, Miller's moved back to its original location, and the chair was repainted.
The world's largest chair is located in Austria, and was created by the furniture store XXXLutz. It is used in XXXLutz commercials featuring the Putz Family, a fictional family who has appeared in commercials since 1998.
In popular culture
The World's Largest Office Chair appeared on the fourth episode of ''
The Amazing Race: Family Edition''.
See also
*
List of largest roadside attractions
References
External links
*{{official website, https://www.millersofficefurniture.com/history
1981 establishments in Alabama
Anniston, Alabama
Tourist attractions in Calhoun County, Alabama