348 Dawson Drive
Webb City, Missouri

Located on a grassy knoll on Dawson Drive near Main Street in Webb City, this 32-foot high Giant Hands in Prayer sculpture is hard to miss. Constructed by local artist J.E. “Jack” Dawson in 1974, this massive concrete and steel piece weighs in at an impressive 220,000 pounds. Dawson crafted this work of art in his backyard, and then hauled it on a flatbed truck to where it sits today. According to the artist, the sculpture is a response to events in the 1960s, which was “a bad time for our country”.

There’s a small slab of asphalt with three standard parking spaces, just past the Giant Hands in Prayer. From there a short paved path leads over to a memorial wall, which was added to the site. This panel depicts how the hands were created. You can get a good view of this icon from that viewpoint, but if you want to get closer you have to climb up the grassy 40-foot high mound (not accessible). There’s also a small picnic shelter near the parking area which has an accessible picnic table, so this iconic site makes a good lunch stop on a Route 66 Missouri road trip.