The latest St. Paul icon

The Midway neighborhood in St. Paul got a new addition this week, a ginormous loon statue. The 33-foot-tall and 88-foot-wide bird is positioned outside of Allianz Field near the Snelling Avenue stop on the Metro Green Line.

Scottish artist Andy Scott designed the piece.

In a 2023 interview with MPR News ahead of the installation, Scott said he was asked to come up with sketches for the loon statue. While he knows the bird, loons are not native to Scotland so he did a bit of research and like most Minnesotans, fell in love with the bird.

“They are beautiful and captivating and have a very distinctive call,” he said. “It was a pleasure to work with it as a muse for the idea.”

While the laser loon fandom has stayed present in Minnesota since the flag redesign through the St. Paul Library card, scarves and other Minnesota United merchandise, the loon statue will not have any laser components.

The statue is part of the United Village development, the 35-acre site on the corner of Snelling Avenue and University Avenue. The project is currently in the early stages; future plans include a new hotel, office building and restaurant pavilion.