Marilyn Monroe Statue Vandalized Again
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Marilyn Monroe statue on the Magnificent Mile has been hit by vandals again, this time leaving one of the statue's legs lathered in red paint.
The statue, which depicts the legendary actress in her iconic pose from the 1955 movie, "The Seven Year Itch," was vandalized early Tuesday by two males on bicycles, police said.
About 4:05 a.m. they rode up to the statue, on the east side of Michigan Avenue just north of the bridge, and threw red paint on its leg, police News Affairs Officer Michael Sullivan said. The two then rode off and had not been caught as of about 9:40 a.m.
In late August, someone scrawled graffiti on the statue's right calf, reading "Pi$tola," a picture of a heart and the word, "Ariel." The graffiti was soon removed.
The 26-foot statue went up this summer in Pioneer Court next to Tribune Tower, and is scheduled to remain through spring of 2012. It is made of aluminum from the waist up, and steel below the waist.
The statue drew both kudos and complaints when it went up. In July, CBS 2's Walter Jacobson called the statue a welcome "smile on that mile," but the Chicago Tribune's Mary Schmich called it "as tawdry as a peep show."
Since it was erected, the statue has attracted the attention of throngs of passersby, residents and tourists, many of whom stop to gaze up at it or have their photos taken next to or under it.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
