Seward Johnson’s giant sculpture, ‘Forever Marilyn’, will soon be heading for New Jersey – but Palm Springs residents hope her departure won’t be permanent, reports The Press Enterprise.
“‘It’s going to be a very sad day not only for Palm Springs residents but for the entire Coachella Valley,’ said Aftab Dada, general manager of the Hilton Palm Springs and chairman of P.S. Resorts, a group of hotels that brought the statue to town nearly two years ago.
‘She’s really become family,’ Dada said.
A going-away party, open to the public, is planned for March 27. Details are still being hashed out.
Dada said there is a possibility the city can bring Monroe back after redevelopment of Desert Fashion Plaza is completed. A new hotel and shops are planned on the corner where the statue now stands. He said there are no plans to install another statue in the interim.
The Forever Marilyn statue, on loan from The Sculpture Foundation, will be transported to Hamilton, N.J., where it will be part of an exhibit honoring its designer, Seward Johnson.
Dada said a big reason for the statue’s success was the location — in the heart of downtown, with the San Jacinto Mountains as a backdrop.
‘The setting we have will be impossible to duplicate,’ Dada said.”