Originally built by and for Food Circus grocery store, which later became known as the regional supermarket Foodtown, it is now a roadside display and de facto advertising sign for a nearby Spirits Liquors.

The clown is the work of Road Ad Sign Company painter Leslie Worth Thomas who also created the mural Tillie, at the Palace Amusements building in Asbury Park.

The moniker was perhaps first coined by local author Doug Kirby, of Roadside America fame, who grew up in the area and remembers marveling at the odd icon from an early age.

To date, the project has been delayed numerous times due to public outcry over increased traffic and the destruction of the only open space property in the township.

There is a deleted scene in the 2000 film Vulgar (produced by Kevin Smith), in which the main character is still traumatized after being raped and just stands next to the Clown of Middletown, depressed.