Forever Marilyn settles into Downtown Park after years of controversy
The 26-foot sculpture moved about 75 feet into its permanent home in February 2025 under a 25-year placement agreement. The fight over it defined an era.
PALM SPRINGS: Forever Marilyn, the 26-foot-tall sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in her billowing-skirt pose from The Seven Year Itch, has settled into its permanent home in Downtown Park after a relocation in February 2025 that ended years of controversy.
The move shifted the statue about 75 feet from its previous position into the park, under a city-approved 25-year placement agreement. The relocation followed a legal battle that had kept the sculpture's fate uncertain and divided the city.
Few public artworks in recent Palm Springs history have generated as much sustained argument. Supporters called the sculpture a tourist draw and a celebration of Hollywood glamour. Critics objected to its placement, its depiction and the process that brought it downtown.
The sculpture's journey to Downtown Park took years of legal battles and public argument.
The sculpture, by artist Seward Johnson, depicts Monroe in the famous subway-grate scene, skirt billowing. At 26 feet tall, it is impossible to ignore, which was always the point and always the problem. Its first downtown stint divided residents between those who saw a beloved photo opportunity and those who saw an oversized monument to a moment many found demeaning.
The legal fight
The path to Downtown Park ran through the courts. Opponents challenged the sculpture's placement, and the litigation kept its future uncertain for years. The February 2025 move, shifting the statue about 75 feet into the park under the 25-year agreement, gave the sculpture a permanent home with a defined term after years of temporary placements and legal challenges.
A new chapter
With the statue now in its permanent home, the controversy has cooled into the background hum of civic life. Tourists still pose for photos at its base. The 25-year agreement means the sculpture will be part of the downtown landscape for a generation.
The episode left its mark on how the city handles public art. The years of argument over Forever Marilyn taught Palm Springs that placement is policy: where a sculpture stands, how long it stays, and who decides are questions that deserve answers before the cranes arrive, not after the lawsuits do.
Whether the city made the right call will be argued for years. What is no longer in doubt is where she stands: in Downtown Park, 26 feet tall, greeting visitors for the next quarter century.
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