The cardinal statue lies just inside the North entrance of the Ohio State Fair. It was built in 1986, and stands at 16 feet tall, including its base.

The cardinal was chosen as Ohio's state bird in 1933, and a version of the cardinal statue has existed in the fairgrounds since 1955, in which the original cardinal was 10 feet tall. According to historian C. LaVon Shook, the cardinal received a shrill whistle and electronic mechanism to respond to fairgoers' questions in 1957. The whistle and mechanism have since been removed.