City announces Marilyn statue to be relocated to Downtown Park
Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein revealed that an initial agreement on the statue’s location has been reached between the city, its owner, and a group that opposes its current location.
Part of the years-long debate over the “Forever Marilyn” sculpture in Palm Springs has ended, with Palm Springs Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein announcing Thursday evening that the 26-foot-tall statue will be moved to a new location in Downtown Park.
Bernstein announced the decision prior to the City Council’s regular meeting, stating the city reached an agreement in principle with the statue’s owner, PS Resorts and a group opposed to its current location, The Committee to Relocate Marilyn (CReMa).
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“The City working with all of the partners will proceed as promptly as is responsible to resolve the remaining logistical issues,” Bernstein said. “The City Council is very pleased to have found a satisfactory solution to this issue, which has divided so many within our community.”
CReMa had sued the city over the statue’s current location in the middle of Museum Way, claiming the city did not go through the proper process to vacate the street before installing the statue there in 2021. The city appeared unwilling to budge on the location of the statue, but recently began talks with all parties on a compromise.
Early schematics of Downtown Park showed the statue possibly located on a pad roughly 50 yards to the north of where it currently sits. However, the specific location the statue will be moved is expected to be finalized within the next 30 days.
Following the announcement, Trina Turk, founder of CReMa, told The Post the location is not up to them, “But the park would be an obvious thing, that’s where everybody always thought it was going to go anyway.”
“We definitely don’t want it infringing on any other Class 1 historic sites in the city of Palm Springs,” she said, a nod to CReMa’s opposition to the fact the statue currently blocks a view corridor to the architecturally-significant Palm Springs Art Museum.
The agreement marks a significant shift from the previous plan to keep the statue in its current location on Museum Way. PS Resorts, the owner of Forever Marilyn, had applied to permanently close off public vehicular access on Museum Way between Belardo Road and Museum Drive, where the statue has stood for the past three years.
The Palm Springs Planning Commission last month approved the request to vacate this portion of Museum Way, a key step toward allowing the artwork to remain in its current location long-term. The City Council approved the vacation later Thursday evening.
One option the council has is to approve the permanent vacation in hopes of turning that stretch of road into a venue for special events.
The Forever Marilyn statue has been a divisive issue in Palm Springs since its installation. Proponents argue that it celebrates the city’s Hollywood ties and serves as a tourist attraction. Detractors, however, contend that the statue is sexist and inappropriate, and that its placement on Museum Way interferes with the Palm Springs Art Museum.
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