Shocking but True: The Humpty Dumpty Story

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Spend any amount of time walking around Downtown Colorado Springs, and you should notice art sculptures on display as you stroll. LOTS of art sculptures on the streets, most of which are actually for sale, and swapped out for new art on an annual basis. A small percentage of the art is owned by the city, however, and therefore, permanent. You see Humpty Dumpty up there in the photo, sitting next to my bike? He was permanent, but he had to be moved to a different permanent location. One of four (that I'm aware of) different Downtown Humpty's, this particular guy was the first one I saw, years ago, back when he hung out a few feet from a popular Downtown bar. And that was the problem: he was on display by a bar. For the last couple years, I've wondered why they moved Humpty to the spot that he presently occupies. And now I know. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, this Humpty Dumpty saw it all while he lived outside the bar. The original was stolen. It cost the city six grand to have the Minneapolis based artist that designs and makes these sculpt a replacement. He has been dented. He has been urinated on, and has even been found in the morning with peanut butter jammed up his nostrils. The final decision to move Humpty came after $1600 and a few months were spent literally putting Humpty back together again. He was beaten severely with a metal object. Workers had to cut the bronze statue in half and hammer out all of the dents from the inside before rejoining his parts back into a single, unbroken egg (and they did make sure to plug his nostrils in order to avoid future peanut butter incidents!) The three foot tall, 200 pound sculpture now resides outside the Pikes Peak Center, a live music venue that also brings in musical stage productions and the occasional big name comedian. So far, Humpty seems to be enjoying his new, safer home. (Photo by me)