CHICAGO, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The shiny 110-ton stainless steel sculpture "Cloud Gate" disappears from public view in Chicago's Millennium Park next month and won't emerge until Spring.
The 66-foot-long, 33-foot-high elliptical sculpture was nicknamed the "Bean" before the park's official opening in September but it was not competed at that time.
Workers will erect a heated tent around the sculpture Jan. 4 so crews can spend the next several months smoothing the seams of its 168 steel plates and polishing the surface to a mirror finish, city parks officials said.
Project director Ed Uhlir told the Chicago Sun-Times work to complete the sculpture was delayed until after the Christmas season to a time when there will be smaller crowds in the park.
The city spent $11.5 million for the artwork by British sculptor Anish Kapoor.
Some architecture critics regard the futuristic $465 million Millennium Park as one of the best public spaces in world.
