Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Superman's adopted home flying high with tourists

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Posted: 1430 GMT (2230 HKT)

A statue of Superman appears to take flight from the second floor of the Super Museum.
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Manage Alerts | What Is This? METROPOLIS, Illinois (AP) -- In this sleepy Ohio River town that claims Superman as its favorite son, 50-year-old Jim Hambrick has landed somewhere between reality and fantasy.

All things Superman rule here, from the 15-foot bronze statue of the buff comic-book hero on Superman Square to the "S"-emblazoned T-shirts that can be found just about everywhere.

Images of Superman grace the water tower and billboards, pointing the way to downtown. A phone booth in the business district is just for show -- it doesn't have a phone.

In the midst of it all is Hambrick, owner of a storefront souvenir shop and Super Museum -- with a sign out front that bills the one-time furniture store as "the Largest Superman Collection on the Planet."

"It's a borderline obsession for me; I had to channel it somewhere," the married father of four said, decked out in a Superman T-shirt that hardly stands out in this town he moved to 13 years ago from Hollywood.