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Kup Statue Missing? Relax ... It's Just For Repairs, City Says

By DNAinfo Staff on April 18, 2014 12:00pm  | Updated on April 21, 2014 8:43am

  The 9-foot statue of Irv "Mr. Chicago" Kupcinet was taken down from its spot on Wacker Drive to allow for repair work on its pedestal, a city spokeswoman said.
The 9-foot statue of Irv "Mr. Chicago" Kupcinet was taken down from its spot on Wacker Drive to allow for repair work on its pedestal, a city spokeswoman said.
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Flickr/tisvet and DNAinfo/Tanveer Ali

DOWNTOWN — The 9-foot statue of Irv "Mr. Chicago" Kupcinet was taken down from its spot on Wacker Drive to allow for repair work on its pedestal, a city spokeswoman said.

Dedicated in 2006 to honor the longtime Sun-Times columnist and talk show host, the statue will be down up to three months to repair the base, said Mary May, a Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events spokeswoman.

"The damaged base was causing the statue to wobble, and repairs will include strengthening and recladding the base," May said.

The 3-foot granite base, which remains in place, is wrapped in yellow caution tape that included the words "Art Conservation in Progress."

Andrzej Dajnowski, director of the Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio in Forest Park, confirmed his organization was working on the project.

"The sculpture really needed washing and waxing, nothing major, but because there was a damaged base, it was decided to take it down," Dajnowski said.

The statue was taken down Saturday and is safe in Forest Park, Dajnowski said.

Kupcinet was best known for "Kup's Column," a daily chronicle of Chicago nightlife, gossip and celebrity news that ran for six decades. The statue was erected across the street from the site of the old Sun-Times building, now the Trump Tower.