Miami Marlins

That didn’t take long: Marlins dismantle the home run sculpture. Look what’s left.

By Douglas Hanks

The seven-story monument to home runs that Derek Jeter wanted banished from Marlins Park came down piece by piece, leaving the contentious sculpture in piles somewhere inside the county-owned stadium.

On Monday, Miami-Dade released photos of the dismantled sculpture, which had loomed over center field since the county-owned stadium opened in 2012. Jeter wants to replace it with a new multi-level spectator area that will cater to fans willing to stand during the game in exchange for discount tickets.

Created by a friend of former owner Jeffrey Loria, “Homer” was a signature legacy of the previous ownership group that Jeter privately pushed to have excised from Marlins Park. With the help of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Jeter’s front office won county approval last month to relocate Homer from its assigned location and moved quickly to have the $2 million sculpture broken down by Halloween.

The beginning of the end for Homer, at least temporarily. A piece of equipment dismantles the front of the Marlins Park home run sculpture, which will be reassembled in a plaza outside the stadium. The photo was taken by Miami-Dade’s Cultural Affairs office, which oversees the county-owned piece of art.
The beginning of the end for Homer, at least temporarily. A piece of equipment dismantles the front of the Marlins Park home run sculpture, which will be reassembled in a plaza outside the stadium. The photo was taken by Miami-Dade’s Cultural Affairs office, which oversees the county-owned piece of art.

The Marlins Park Twitter account posted a photo of a crane in front of an untouched Homer on Oct. 26, and on Monday sports-radio host Andy Slater posted a photo of an empty platform where Homer once stood.

The photos released by the county’s Cultural Affairs office reveal some of the construction required in between. There is a piece of hydraulic equipment suspended in front of one of Homer’s removed panels, a mechanical marlin awaiting a similar fate.

One of the seagulls that spun to life after a Marlins home run lies by two trash cans before workers moved it to storage inside the ballpark. Metal palm trees that framed the base rest in the warning-track dirt that rings the outfield.

Jason Latimer, the Marlins’ communications chief, said the dismantling took about a week, and that the sculpture will be stored in the park before it is eventually rebuilt on a plaza outside. “Homer” isn’t expected to return in time for the 2019 season, and Miami-Dade is allowing the team to wait until the start of 2020 to reassemble the work of art under a revised contract with the county.

Palm trees that flanked “Homer,” the seven-story home run sculpture commissioned for Marlins Park’s 2012 opening, after being removed from the county-owned artwork that is being dismantled and moved outside the stadium.
Palm trees that flanked “Homer,” the seven-story home run sculpture commissioned for Marlins Park’s 2012 opening, after being removed from the county-owned artwork that is being dismantled and moved outside the stadium.

Once outside, “Homer” will still whir to life with every Marlins home run. It also will activate after home wins and every day at 3:05 p.m., a tribute to Miami’s original area code, according to plans Marlins executives presented to county officials.

Jeter’s quest to remove “Homer” served as a proxy battle between the past and present ownership groups, since artist Red Grooms is a friend of Loria, a New York art dealer.

One of the seagulls that used to whir to life when the home team hit a home run at Marlins Park lies grounded after Derek Jeter’s front office succeeded in winning permission to dismantle the seven-story home run sculpture that is owned by Miami-Dade County. Until recently, the sculpture sat behind center field. Now it’s in storage somewhere in the stadium. This photo was taken by an employee of the county’s Cultural Affairs office.
One of the seagulls that used to whir to life when the home team hit a home run at Marlins Park lies grounded after Derek Jeter’s front office succeeded in winning permission to dismantle the seven-story home run sculpture that is owned by Miami-Dade County. Until recently, the sculpture sat behind center field. Now it’s in storage somewhere in the stadium. This photo was taken by an employee of the county’s Cultural Affairs office.

Miami-Dade initially rebuffed Jeter’s request to move “Homer,“ saying the art was designed for a specific site and should not be relocated. Grooms, a renowned pop sculptor, urged Miami-Dade’s Art in Public Places board to reject the Marlins’ application to have “Homer” moved, but the panel sided with Jeter in a unanimous vote after Gimenez urged approval.

On Monday, David Samson, the former Marlins president under Loria, turned to Twitter to denounce the end of “Homer” inside Marlins Park.

“Mindboggling,” wrote Samson, who is close to Loria, his former stepfather. “In every way. All artists: beware that permanent public installations are now subject to the taste of temporary tenants.”

A crane dismantles the front of “Homer,” the seven-story sculpture that loomed behind center field at Marlins Park until Derek Jeter won permission from Miami-Dade County to move the county-owned art outside the stadium. This Oct. 25 photo was taken by the county’s Cultural Affairs office.
A crane dismantles the front of “Homer,” the seven-story sculpture that loomed behind center field at Marlins Park until Derek Jeter won permission from Miami-Dade County to move the county-owned art outside the stadium. This Oct. 25 photo was taken by the county’s Cultural Affairs office.

This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 6:31 PM.

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