CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Art Institute’s famous lions have been removed from the perches where they’ve sat guarding the building since the late 1800's.
The bronze lions date to 1893 and were originally cast in plaster for the World’s Fair.
Rachel Sabino, the Art Institute’s Director of Objects and Textiles Conservation, said the lions will be cleaned with high pressure steam and then waxed.
"We've not done this to the lions in several decades. As you can imagine, doing this full-scale treatment where we have to remove them is quite an operation."
She said they will still be green, but more lustrous when they return. The lions have only been moved twice before- for the widening of Michigan Avenue more than 100 years ago and for a more recent construction project.
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