Elton John once sang “Good-bye Norma Jean,” and this week Chicago will say the same thing. The 26-foot sculpture of Marilyn Monroe, Forever Marilyn, will move to Palm Springs, Calif.

Unveiled last July, the sculpture of Monroe was located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, near the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The sculpture, created by Seward Johnson, captured Monroe’s famous pose from the movie The Seven-Year Itch.

There are claims that it drew over 40,000 people in daily foot traffic. This might be true, but I think it is more an impulse site than a destination. How many of those 40,000 people would have walked that way without the sculpture? I am guessing most “visitors” are merely passersby who might stop and check out Monroe.

Unfortunately, many of those checking out Monroe are doing so for the purpose of R-rated photographs. I am not really sure what this does for Chicago, either.

Aside from all of that, I question why Monroe was here at all. Where is the Chicago connection? I can think of many more celebrities who would have made more sense (please, no Jim Belushi, though).

A representative for the realty group which commissioned the sculpture and owns the land where it stands defends it by stating it is art, which starts conversations. I’ll add that all conversations aren’t good or necessary.

I went by Monroe dozens of times in the last year and never even slowed down to inspect it further. Unlike other great pieces of art here, I fail to see what Monroe brought to the city.

I guess those 40,000 visitors will have to find something else to see in Chicago, maybe something that even represents Chicago in some way. I think they will not have a problem.

— John Wroblewski, online contributor