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A beloved northeast Minneapolis sculpture took a hit this weekend when a car drove off the road and crashed into it. 

The Minneapolis Police Department said a car crashed into the sculpture just before 3 a.m. on Saturday. There were no injuries. Muddy tire tracks show the car’s path over the grass and into the sculpture.

” dwells on the lawn of East Side Neighborhood Services, which administers social services, childcare and an alternative high school. The lizard sculpture’s larger-than-life head sticks out of a fully operational shed, the back legs and tail out the other side.

The crash ripped the lizard’s head out of the shed, leaving the sculpture split in two.

Sculptor Mary Johnson started building Lizard Lounge in 2008 at Franconia Sculpture Park. It’s built with stucco, inspired by 1950s-era roadside attractions. In 2020, East Side Neighborhood Services bought it and moved it to its property.

“It was beloved by children and the neighborhood alike,” Johnson said.

East Side Neighborhood Services President Mary Anstett said the organization is looking into repairing the sculpture and working with the driver’s insurance. 

“I have already been approached by community neighbors who want to help to assure our lizard is restored,” Anstett said. “Over the weekend many families have stopped by in support and sadness.” 

Johnson said the sculpture is valued at $55,000.

RIP Lizzie the Lizard

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Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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A beloved northeast Minneapolis sculpture took a hit this weekend when a car drove off the road and crashed into it. “Lizard Lounge” dwells on the lawn of East Side Neighborhood Services. The Minneapolis Police Department said a car crashed into the sculpture just before 3 a.m. on Saturday morning. 

Tracks lead towards a shed with a lizard. The structure shows damage.

Ben Hovland | MPR News

A lizard head sits in a yard with a shed and power lines in the background.

a woman stands next to a lizard sculpture

Courtesy of Mary Johnson

A shed and structure of a lizard is damaged.

Northeast Minneapolis lizard sculpture smashed in car crash

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