Welcome to Metropolis Illinois Billboard

We are all, well, most of us anyway, are familiar with the activities of Superman and his alter ego, Clark Kent, through both the American comics published by DC Comic books, many films and several television series.  Whenever trouble was taking place, Clark Kent changed into Superman in the blink of an eye, usually in a telephone kiosk, or in American terms, ‘phone booth’ and then Superman flew through the air at many times the speed of sound to protect people from either a huge disaster or criminal activities.

Clark Kent worked as a newspaper reporter for the ‘Daily Planet’, which was based in the American city of ‘Metropolis’ and therefore Metropolis is where Clark Kent and hence Superman lived.

Huge Superman Statue Outside Metropolis, Illinois City Hall

Well, it may surprise many to know that Metropolis is a real city and is situated in southern Illinois and the people of Metropolis are very proud of their hero Superman.  So proud in fact, that they have erected a huge statue of him in front of City Hall.  My Son Stephen is standing in front of the statue to allow a sense of its scale

Bronze Statue of Lois Lane as Played by Noel Neil

There is also somewhat smaller (life size) bronze statue of Superman’s girlfriend, Lois Lane just down the street from City Hall.  This statue is actually of Noel Neil in her Lois Lane costume.  Noel Neil played Lois Lane in the 1950’s American television series

Main Street Metropolis Illinois

However, as you may have guessed, from the less than monumental size and style of the City Hall building behind the Superman statue, Metropolis is not the huge modern city portrayed in the comics and films, it is part of small town America, extremely quiet and somewhat run down.  Most of the shops on the main street have given way to out of town developments, which is the case for many of the small towns in the USA.

The old shops are now mostly used as offices for lawyers, realtors etc., with the occasional hairdresser.  There are however, some very finely executed and interesting murals painted on walls just off the main street, which show historical aspects of the city.

Mural Metropolis, Illinois Showing The Old Main Street

Mural Metropolis, Illinois Showing Historical Fire Appliances

Mural Metropolis, Illinois Showing Flood Damage

Superman Shop & Museum, Metropolis, Illinois

There is also a museum dedicated to Superman, Supergirl, their friends, enemies and all the actors who have played them over the years.

I will leave you with gallery of photos of the inside of the museum, which contains a huge range of artifacts and costumes from the original 1950’s TV series to the latest films: