Damaged by hurricanes, ‘Bending Arc’ at the St. Pete Pier is coming down

ST. PETERSBURG — A St. Pete Pier's focal point, the "Bending Arc" sculpture by Janet Echelman, is being taken down to see if it can be rehung in a way that leaves it less susceptible to storm damage.

City Development Administrator James Corbett said the four-year-old sculpture has suffered damage by three separate storms. He said when the sculpture was first damaged, the material used to hang the structural net to the artistic net was a twine type of material was "not sufficient."

Corbett said a firm that inspects the artwork, The Net House from Cocoa, Florida, reattached some of those areas on the sculpture. Those stayed put through the next two storms, he said, giving city officials hope that the public art could be fixed. But other areas of the net were damaged and need a closer look.

"We believe that that is a fix that is sustainable, but we need to bring it down," Corbett said.

The plan, he said, is to take the net down and place it in a crate to ship it out. He said city officials will take a look not only at the net itself, because there are concerns about its weight, but also the manner in how the net is attached so it can be reinstalled correctly. Net House will take the sculpture down.

Corbett said he sent a letter to Echelman that he shared with the council. The Times has requested a copy of that letter.

Former Mayor Rick Kriseman raised $1.25 million in private money to pay for the sculpture and another $400,000 for its foundation, lighting and four pylons.