Community Corner
Battle Lost for Iwo Jima Statue in Sarasota?
This video offers background on the original monument prior to it going up for auction in New York, where it did not sell.
Organizers of an effort to bring a World War II statue to Sarasota have announced that they are abandoning their efforts.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that an original stone version of the Iwo Jima flag-raising will not be placed along the city's waterfront.
According to the Herald-Tribune, Sarasota Public Art Fund Chair Tom Savage said: "We had a dream and that dream has been lost."
Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Savage reportedly said that he lacks enough support from the city commission to carry out the $1.4 million fund raiser to bring the statue by Felix de Weldon to Sarasota.
Plans for the statue, which included building a plaza to surround it, were slated to go before several city committees. The Herald-Tribune article suggested that there was not consensus among city leaders that the statue should be placed on the bayfront.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Organizers had hoped to fast track the process and have the statue in place by early November.
No formal vote had been taken on the statue.
The statue previously was put up for auction in New York but did not fetch the asking price that the seller wanted. It is now in storage.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
