GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. When I visited Erie in 2025, I stayed in a suburb south of the city across from Splash Lagoon. I used it as an opportunity to explore more of the city outside of the central core that I am most familiar with. Driving along East 38th Street, “Artifishial” leaped out of the bushes at me.
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. This brightly-colored rainbow fish is the reason I discovered 2025 that the Splash Lagoon fish and frogs were on display outside the paywall barrier. It caught my eye while waiting my turn at a very long light. I suspect that it is one of the ones that has been redecorated over the original design as the way the paint is chipping is different than how the original patterns age and I cannot find a match for it in “GoFish! The Offishial Tale.”
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. “Stained Glass Bass” by Ed Grout & Creators from the Black Lagoon was one of the fish I caught at Splash Lagoon summer 2025.
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. In 2023, Shelly and I took a long weekend in Erie with a goal to find as many fish as we could. We used Amy H.’s FourSquare map to locate probable locations. Several fish were shown as being at Splash Lagoon. I assumed they would be inside the amusement facility and so we did not try to collect photos of them. However, when I went to Erie in Summer 2025 and stayed at a hotel across the street from Splash Lagoon, I found that their fish and frogs were all outside (three fish and one frog, plus one frog at an adjacent business).
“Splash-the-Lagoon-A-Tuna” was designed by artist Dan Byler and sponsored by Scott Enterprises.
LeapFrog! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2004. I had been aware for a few years that there was a frog at Splash Lagoon, but I didn’t capture a photo of it until Summer 2025. “Croaker Soaker” looks like he’s ready to splash into some fun!
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. We were able to head straight toward this pair of fish in 2023 thanks to Amy H.’s map. “Kissing Fish” by Francis T. Schanz have had at least one makeover since 2001. The one on the left used to be pink and red and the one on the right seems to have had a little more purple tint in its blues. As our final fishing find of the trip, it was nice to get two for the price of one!
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. This may be my favorite of the 8 fish installations we found on our trip in 2023 as I’m a big fan of strawberries and of chocolate. “Chocolate-covered Bassberry” by Bill Hanna was underdevelopment when the offishial GoFish! book was published. It is listed in the index, but there was no photo in the book. This makes me wonder if more fish (and frogs and dinosaurs) that I cannot find matches for in the books were created as part of the official fundraisers, but after the official books were published.
Once again, Amy H.’s FourSquare map was instrumental in helping us find this fish.
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. When we found “Red Wing” by Annoel & Peggy Krider on our 2023 trip, the pattern painted on it had changed slightly from the original. The current version pops more than the photo in the “offishial” GoFish! book. It was easy to spot as soon as we got to the site identified on Amy H.’s map as the current home for this fish.
As FourSquare isn’t available anymore, I have created my own maps for where I encountered Erie’s fish and frogs, plus statues in other cities: https://urbantraipsing.com/public-art-maps/
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. By the time we found “The Cosmic Fish, Inspired by Frederick Franck” by William J. Doan on our 2023 trip, we had gotten into the habit of asking for help once we got inside the building identified on Amy H.’s FourSquare map. This time we got a surprisingly quick response from the first person we saw: “Oh, yeah, it’s right there.”
As FourSquare isn’t available anymore, I have created my own maps for where I encountered Erie’s fish and frogs, plus statues in other cities: https://urbantraipsing.com/public-art-maps/
GoFish! was a fundraiser in Erie, PA, in 2001. Amy H.’s FourSquare map helped us identify the building where “‘The Teaching Fish’ Minds to Learn, Fins to Serve” by MC Gensheimer now lives (2023), but we had to ask for help multiple times once we were inside before one of the staff showed us where this fish was in the cafeteria.
As FourSquare isn’t available anymore, I have created my own maps for where I encountered Erie’s fish and frogs, plus statues in other cities: https://urbantraipsing.com/public-art-maps/
