Giraffe, Goat Statues to be Returned, or Placed in a Museum

The iconic giraffe and “nanny goat” statues removed from Elaine Place in November will either be returned to their original pedestals or removed entirely from Lake View and donated to a museum.

That’s according to Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44th) office where officials have been fielding complaints about the statues' removal for months. Tunney’s Director of Community Outreach Erin Duffy spoke to residents at the Jan. 15 Belmont Harbor Neighbors meeting saying they’re still working to keep the statues in the community.

“We’ve been getting a lot of calls about the Elaine Place sculptures, and unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of information to give right now,” Duffy said. “They’re still being refurbished and appraised. (The statues’ owner Milton Zale) said he’ll only sell them to someone if they go back in their original spots. If not, they’ll probably go into a museum.”

Duffy said Zale won’t do anything until they're appraised, which is expected to be sometime in February. Tunney said in November he was attempting to at least keep the statues in Lake View.

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And while she reported Tunney was working closely with the artwork’s owner to bring them back to Lake View, the reason behind the removal came down to insurance payments.

“When Milton sold the buildings (at Elaine Place) to Chicago Apartment Finders, they didn’t want the artwork because of insurance reasons,” Duffy said in November. “He was basically giving the statues to them for free, and they didn’t want them. So now he’s refurbishing them, and while he would like them to go back to their original place, Tom’s still working on it.”

"...he’ll only sell them to someone if they go back in their original spots. If not, they’ll probably go into a museum."

The three sculptures designed by artist John Kearney in 1978 became a small landmark in Lake View, and neighbors are anything but pleased about their removal. Kearney is also the sculptor behind other major works in Chicago, including Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scare Crow, Dorothy and Toto in Oz Park in Lincoln Park. 

However, according to Director of Property Management Kimberly Carr, Chicago Apartment Finders are equally as concerned about the sculptures. They wrote a short statement in Patch’s comments in response to accusations from neighbors that they purposefully removed the statues after purchasing the property from Zale Management Company.

“Chicago Apartment Finders tried to have the Kearney statues conveyed at closing, but the previous owner elected to have them removed,” Carr wrote. “We are aware and sensitive to the concerns from local neighbors and community groups and we are doing everything in our power to have the statues returned to their rightful position.”

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