Cherry returns to Spoonbridge sculpture in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - After a three-month absence to get its once-a-decade makeover, the iconic cherry of "Spoonbridge and Cherry" has returned to its spoon tip perch.

"It went and had a bath and it’s all shiny and it’s back," exclaimed Alexis Christie of Minneapolis.

"It went on vacation!" added her friend, Suzanne Christie, also of Minneapolis.

Both women, along with the families, were on hand to watch for the artistic reunification Friday. The cherry had been removed in mid-November for repainting, which is needed about every ten years. In this case, the last time was 2009, so a little longer than usual.

"It’s such an iconic image," said Suzanne Christie. "We missed it when it was gone. We happened to catch when was leaving, so we were super excited to see when it was coming back."

Crews placed the refreshed cherry back on "Cherry and Spoonbridge" sculpture in Minneapolis.

Officially called "Spoonbridge and Cherry," the iconic artwork has been the centerpiece of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden since 1988, being the very first piece commissioned for the park. The cherry itself is a 12,00-pound aluminum ball. It had a full refurbishment at Fine Art Finishes in New York. 

In the midst of a snowy and blustery February day, a small crowd stood by to watch the cherry get hoisted back into place, a worker riding inside to help reattach it in place. Among them, Peter Dicampo of Seattle, Washington, who’d been told by friends this was something not to miss.

"Because everyone has told us that while we were in Minneapolis, we would see the spoon, but not the cherry because it’s being cleaned," said Dicampo. "Realizing the cherry is now back, we wanted to come check it out."