Large, painted eggs that sit in front of many businesses and other buildings across Forsyth County have become icons of the community in the last few years, but when one of those buildings or businesses move or shut down, plans for what happens to the eggs may get scrambled.

Norman’s Landing on Peachtree Parkway (Hwy. 141) closed last month after 22 years of business in the county. While the building is still there, a large, painted egg in front of the building is no longer on premises.

The egg, one of about two dozen across the county, has been moved to Don's Market, also on Peachtree Parkway. 

“The plan is for them to stay where they are originally located,” said  Laura Pate, with Forsyth County’s Parks and Recreation DepartmentPate said. “As you can see with the closings of the businesses, it may be necessary to relocate some along the way.”

Pate said the eggs are the property of the building where they are located. Another longtime business with an egg, Humpus Bumpus Books, recently announced its closing, and Pate said the future of that egg will be decided by the new owners.

She said relocating eggs is a new issue and that they can be moved and bolted to an area with a new concrete pad. No eggs have needed to be repainted since they were introduced.

The eggs originated in 2008 from a joint project between the parks and recreation department, Sawnee Women’s Club, the Sawnee Association of the Arts (SSA) and other groups. The shape was chosen to celebrate the area’s past in the poultry industry.

“We decided we’d do eggs because other counties had done roosters and other things,” said Charlotte Gardner, with SAA. “The funny thing about it is when the first two eggs were made to sell, we realized they wouldn’t go through a regular door.”

The fiberglass eggs, weighing between 20 to 30 pounds and standing about five feet, were designed and completed by local businessman Larry Hutto at a cost of $500.

Over the past few years, many cities across the state have introduced individually painted sculptures to represent the area, including bulldogs in Athens, roosters in Gainesville and turtles in Sandy Springs. 

The eggs were placed from 2009-2013, and each is designed to represent the building it sits in front of and is protected with a clear coat finish to prevent vandalism.

“Different businesses in town bought the eggs. Then they could get their own artists or they could get someone from the Sawnee Artists to paint it,” Gardner said. “Some did their own, and others didn’t.”