History of the “Big Chair”
The history of the big Gardner Chair dates back over a hundred years, before Gardner MA became a city. At one time Gardner was home to a dozen furniture companies making more than a million chairs a year and employing almost one thousand workers.
The 20 foot iconic chair on Elm Street is testament to the “Chair City of the World.” In 1977, the chair was designated as the largest in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records and the record was listed in the 1978 edition of the book.
It is said the very first “Big Chair” was created by George C. Goodale of the Philander Derby Company in 1905 and was intended to be the company’s float in that year’s Labor Day parade. Read the complete article.