Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, you know about the 40-foot rubber duck that’s been floating in the Allegheny River down at Point State Park. The piece of art is the brainchild of Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, who chose Pittsburgh as the city where the rubber duck would make its U.S. debut. And Pittsburgh welcomed it with open arms.
Now it’s time to say goodbye, and most of us aren’t ready to let it go just yet. Every morning for the past month it’s brought a smile to my face as I make my way down West Carson Street to work. I’ve personally visited the inflatable ducky not once, not twice, but three times and the experience was genuinely joyful each time. I felt like a little kid, and I wasn’t the only one. Droves and droves of people flocked to The Point to witness the rubber duck up close and personal; an astonishing 1 million people to be exact. Pittsburgh fell so in love that a petition was made to #KeepTheDuck here in The Burgh, but all good things must come to an end and tonight the duck will say goodbye.
You will be missed.
