PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The dominoes are falling at Philadelphia’s Municipal Services Building — literally. The giant game pieces that decorated the plaza outside the Center City building for 27 years are being removed to make way for a new, greener space.
The whimsical checkers, chessmen, and Monopoly and Parcheesi pieces — a display titled “Your Move” — were the product of the last renovation of the building. They were installed in 1996 and became problematic right away.
“This is a very well-trafficked area, highly visible, and immediately started to have a lot of interactions with the public, especially skateboarders,” said Marguerite Anglin, the city’s public art director. “Unfortunately due to those interactions, [it] suffered a lot of abuse.”
Anglin said the pieces had to be removed, refurbished and reinstalled the first year they were there. And, they required constant maintenance — to the tune of $40,000 to $50,000 — making them among the most expensive public art installations in the city.
“Because of the materials that were used, the paint didn’t hold up very well. As soon as you get scratches, especially the type of deep scratches from skateboards and other interactions with the public, the pieces began to rust and deteriorate in weather,” she said. “They just never really looked like they did that first day.”
Even the three artists who created them didn’t want them back. The city offered to return the artwork to the artists, but they declined.
“They requested the city to dispose of the art and not sell them,” Anglin said.
She said the latest renovation will add green space and a new site-specific art installation that is in line with the new design for the plaza. The city envisions a public square, like Dilworth or LOVE Park, with gardens and seating for the public.
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