A new home has been proposed for the Echelman sculpture in the St. Petersburg Pier District. Last Friday, city officials and opposition to the original Spa Beach location met to discuss potential new sites.
Kyle Parks, spokesman for a group of sculpture supporters, said a location next to the St. Petersburg Museum of History is now a possibility and artist Janet Echelman is open to changing her initial design to fit the smaller space.
“What you want to do is make sure that the piece is from a location point of view, from how it's designed, that it has that major wow factor,” Parks said. “And we've talked to Janet over the last few days and she feels confident that she can keep that wow factor intact.”
Earlier this month, the St Petersburg City Council voted down the Spa Beach location by a 4-3 vote. Residents opposing the site said it would block the downtown waterfront view of Tampa Bay.
Phil Graham Jr., president of the Waterfront Parks Foundation, said his group helped hold off Echelman's contract signing last week so the city could identify other sites.
"The city likes it, the donors like it and our group hasn't voted on it as a board at this point, but basically it sounds like a good compromise all the way around," Graham said.
Graham added that council members could approve that location next week, after which Echelman could begin adapting her design to the new site.
