A massive statue of Marilyn Monroe that has towered over Palm Springs for years is set to be moved after a lengthy legal battle.
Standing 26 feet tall, Forever Marilyn can be found right on the cusp of downtown California.
It has been there since June 2021, but has sparked some controversy.
Residents have expressed concern about the Marilyn monolith’s more risqué qualities, as it is inspired by the star’s seminal scene in 1955’s ‘The Seven Year Itch’.
It also blocks the view of the Palm Springs Art Museum, which has convinced the city to remove it, but it won’t go far, as it has been relocated five times.
A massive statue of Marilyn Monroe that has towered over Palm Springs for years is set to be moved after a lengthy legal battle
The statue has been there since June 2021, but has sparked some controversy during that time.
“The City of Palm Springs is pleased to announce that during today’s closed session, the City Council reached an agreement in principle with PS Resorts and CReMa to relocate the Forever Marilyn sculpture,” the Palm Springs City Council said Thursday.
The new site is yet to be determined, but the statue’s new home will be somewhere in Downtown Park, the city said.
Officials said they hope to have the specific location within the nearby park finalized within the next month, during which time they will move forward with the street vacation.
A public hearing was held that evening to work out the logistics of the holiday.
“The City Council is very pleased to have found a satisfactory solution to this issue, which has divided so many within our community,” the statement concluded.
The saga surrounding the statue dates back 14 years, when it was first installed in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile section in 2011.
However, the statue was quickly vandalized three times, and the executive director of the Chicago Public Arts Group at the time apparently blamed the incidents on the sexually suggestive nature of the statue.
“In our society, we have little room for sexually expressive imagery,” Jon Pounds was quoted as saying by The Chicago Tribune after the statue was splattered with red paint.
Residents have expressed concerns about the Marilyn monolith’s more risqué qualities, leading to a lawsuit that is now in the process of being resolved.
The statue is inspired by the star’s seminal scene in 1955’s ‘The Seven Year Itch,’ where wind from a Manhattan subway grate caused her dress to lift up in an iconic display.
“The social contract does not work because it is loaded with political meaning.”
It moved within a year to the corner of Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way in Palm Springs, after which it relocated once again following a farewell at the Palm Springs Village Fest in March 2014.
Its new home for the next year and a half will be the 42-acre Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, as part of a 2014 retrospective honoring its creator, Seward Johnson, who was born in New Brunswick. Johnson died in March 2020 at age 89.
However, due to its popularity, the statue remained there until September 2015, when it was scheduled to be moved again, once the retrospective was over.
He was then transported more than 10,000 miles away to Rosalind Park in the Australian city of Bendigo, where he headlined the Marilyn Monroe exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery.
Then in 2018, the statue was brought back to the United States to Latham Park in Stamford, Connecticut, where it was part of another exhibition honoring Johnson’s works.
This sparked controversy again when residents complained that she appeared to be flashing her underwear at a nearby church.
Meanwhile, Pasadena officials were campaigning to bring back Forever Marilyn, as it had been a huge success locally and was lost.
It also blocks the view of the Palm Springs Art Museum, some said, reasons that have successfully lobbied the city to try to remove it.
The city has assured residents that the statue will not go far, having been relocated five times before.
Within a year, then-Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon would announce the statue’s return, after it had been stored in a dismantled state in The Garden State following the conclusion of Johnson’s exhibit.
After another year and a half, it opened east of the Palm Springs Art Museum in April 2021, a location announced just two months earlier.
According to the announcement, Forever Marilyn would remain in the affluent California city for up to three years, after which the statue’s local economic impact would be reviewed and its future decided.
Within two months, however, a lawsuit seeking to block construction of the facility was filed in California courts by a body known as the Committee to Relocate Marilyn (or Crema), which included several influential Palm Springs residents.
Among them were fashion designer Trina Turk and collector Chris Menrad, who questioned not only the sculpture’s placement but also the prolonged closure of part of Museum Way to allow tourists to visit it.
Crema argued that the decision was beyond the approval of the city council and saw his case dismissed within two months.
However, the lawsuit was reinstated on appeal last year and was making its way through Riverside County Superior Court.
Also involved was the hotel group that owns the statue, PS Resorts, which worked with the city in an attempt to resolve the lawsuit.
The suit was filed by a group known as the Committee to Relocate Marilyn (or Crema), which included influential Palm Springs residents such as fashion designer Trina Turk and collector Chris Menrad.
The piece was created by noted artist Seward Johnson, who passed away in March 2020 at the age of 89.
The parties are scheduled to meet later this week to discuss the specific location within Downtown Park where Forever Marilyn will be relocated, as well as the payment of attorney fees and other costs, the city said.
Since then, all have issued statements acknowledging that deal negotiations are still ongoing, while a concrete new location is still up in the air.
But according to the city’s statement, it appears the protracted legal battle has finally come to an end, pending another passerby questioning the essence and content of the piece.
For now, the three parties will meet later this week to discuss the specific location within Downtown Park where “Forever Marilyn” will be relocated, as well as payment of attorney fees and other costs, the city said Thursday.
