GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — An iconic entry from Grand Rapids’ first ArtPrize will soon disappear from the waters of John Ball Zoo.
The zoo announced Thursday it is removing a degrading “Nessie” from its pond.
Nessie made her debut in the Grand River near the Blue Bridge during the inaugural ArtPrize, and quickly became a crowd favorite.
After the competition ended, donations from Bea Idema and others helped pay to move the 18-foot high, 100-foot long Styrofoam sculpture to the zoo’s pond.
Crews work to install Nessie in the Grand River near the Blue Bridge in Grand Rapids for ArtPrize 2009.
The zoo says even then, the sculpture was described as being waterlogged. The zoo said it’s tried to preserve Nessie over the years, but the sculpture has become too fragile and is now impacting the environment.
Now John Ball Zoo says it’s working with Dart Manufacturing out of Mason, Michigan to recycle Nessie into a public bench. The new structure will sit in the zoo’s welcome garden.
It’s unclear when the Nessie bench will make its debut.