Restoration to start soon on iconic Twin Cities mermaid statue

MOUNDS VIEW, Minn. — For more than five decades, drivers on Highway 10 got glimpses of the 30-foot statue standing high above the city of Mounds View.

It was taken down and placed into storage in 2018.

"Unfortunately, the base of her had rotted out and she started sinking into the roof, and so they had to pull her down," Jordan Reed, executive chef at the Mermaid, said. "She was becoming actually more of a hazard than anything."

That was until 2023 when an agreement was reached — championed by now-Mayor Zach Lindstrom — to buy the statue for a dollar.

"The cool thing was is we sold the mermaid to the city of Mounds View for $1 and then we will be buying back the mermaid for that dollar after it gets restored," Reed said.  

Seven years later, it's out of storage.

The statue was declared a Historical Landmark earlier this month. That gives it a designated account at the city so people can donate to its restoration.

To do the restoration, Lindstrom had to find the right crew for the job. With a job this big, you have to go with someone who has done it before.

"So I ran into a councilmember at the League of Minnesota Cities conference in June from Blue Earth, and they happened to be home of a 54-foot Green Giant that was in need of repair," Lindstrom said.

He struck a deal with Mike's Commercial Painting out of New Ulm, who repaired and repainted Blue Earth's Jolly Green Giant in 2015.

The repairs to the mermaid will include internal stabilization, repainting her to her original color and fixing several wounds

"People shot arrows into her back in the day," Reed said.

To be accurately restored, they need old color photos to ensure the colors are correct.

Once restored, like a call from the sea, this suburban siren will lure onlookers from across the metro back to where so many memories were made.

"It'll be very significant for everybody to see her standing back up again," Reed said. "It's gonna be a lot of fun to see what happens when they get the final idea of where they're gonna place her."

The city hasn't decided where the mermaid will go once restored. The project will start next month and take about 200 hours to complete.