By Howard Packowitz
BLOOMINGTON – An iconic piece of Downtown Bloomington was damaged over the weekend, and the head of the McLean County Museum of History does not know if a criminal act or an accident caused damage to the Lincoln Bench on the south side of the courthouse square.
Museum Executive Director Beth Whisman said museum staff made the discovery Monday morning.
She said some type of corrosive material spilled on part of the statue and the bench. The material was not water soluble.
Whisman said the museum filed a police report to investigate what happened.
“People interact with that bench every single day, and so if there’s a day where people can’t take a picture with it, or sit with it, we hear about it,” Whisman said.
“It’s just upsetting,” Whisman added.
The Lincoln Bench depicts the late president as a young lawyer practicing in downtown Bloomington.
It was given to the community in the year 2000 as a gift from former Bloomington Mayor Judy Markowitz for the city’s 150th birthday celebration.
Whisman does not know if security cameras downtown will help authorities find out what happened.
She said artist Rick Harney, who was commissioned to create the sculpture, used special tools to remove the material.
Whisman said the sculpture looks much better now, but Harney plans to do more clean-up work later.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
