SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The mayor of Springfield has paid $2,500 to buy a local landmark _ a concrete statue of a seal that for decades stood outside the city’s Bel-Aire Motel.
Mayor Jim Langfelder says he’s looking for suggestions of what to do with the 8,000-pound statue. The seal was once a fountain outside the now-demolished motel and a popular stop on Route 66.
The mayor tells The (Springfield) State Journal-Register that he wanted to preserve a piece of city history. He paid for the statue with his own money. Langfelder says he can envision putting the seal in a park or as a traveling attraction.
