Batcolumn

Very Tall Baseball Bat

Description

This startling, very tall baseball bat sculpture is located in an obscure place--in front of the Harold Washington Social Security Center (no, not at a baseball park, like one would expect). Artist Claes Oldenburg delivered the 96-foot monstrosity to the city in 1977, and although controversial, the bat has stayed on display since then. It's steel construction has stood the test of time, not to mention the dismal weather of the windy city, as one of Claes' masterpieces. Some of his other unique pieces of art include a 25-foot tall lipstick on the campus of Yale University, and a 45-foot tall clothespin in the Center Square Plaza in Philadelphia.