The bowling pin rises 30 feet from the courtyard floor, peaking just a bit higher than the railing at balcony level at Channelside.
It can lay claim, via roadamerica.com, as the largest pin in the world.
According to Parade magazine, the "giant bowling pin" is number 33 of 50 American originals - those kitschy tourist attractions that no one can resist searching out or maybe just want to scratch their heads about.
Think largest rubber band ball in Eugene, Ore., or largest twine ball in Darwin, Minn.
Or more giant stuff singled out by Parade: giant milk bottles in Richmond, Va. (No. 38); largest baseball bat in Louisville, Ky., of course (No. 25); largest porch swing in Hebron, Neb. (No. 14); and a giant reproduction of Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" on an 80-foot easel in Goodland, Kan. (No. 15).
"It's cute, and it is huge," said Ohio tourist Pansy Stephenson. She and her family whirled around the courtyard testing their skills on Segways before zipping away on a tour of Tampa at large.
Stephenson's curiosity was whetted by muralist Matt Callahan as he painted a logo onto the bowling pin for Splitsville, a longtime Channelside eatery that weds upscale dining with 12 bowling lanes. The pin has stood outside Splitsville since it opened in 2003.
Splitsville owners wanted a "big, big pin and it ended up being the largest," said Tampa manager Michael Crave. "It jumps out a people. People definitely love it especially when a cruise ship comes in. There's a line [for picture taking]."
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