OK, here come the jokes. One of these for your thoughts. Something keeps showing up like a bad one of these. One of these saved is one of these earned. It must have cost a pretty one of these.
The 11-foot-tall, Lincoln penny rolled into its new home at the still-to-be-opened Lincoln Park on Monday morning. The gleaming one-cent piece is made of foam (and still weighs 1,500 pounds, and a worker assured me that, should sea level rise to that extent, it will float).
The penny is somewhat of a publicity stunt for the city, which has never been slow to jump on a new shiny idea. Officials from the mayor on down have predicted that the gigantic coin will be a No. 1 Instagrammed and selfie spot for years to come.
Do the math: If all those selfie and Instagram people stay in local hotels and eat in the city’s fine restaurants, it could bring thousands—maybe millions—of dollars into the city’s coffers, solving all of the city’s financial problems for just one little—yet crazily huge—penny.
The coin, located on Ocean Boulevard and Pacific Avenue, will be one of the focal points for the new Lincoln Park which is nearing completion.
Until then, I’ll see you on the flip side.
Lincoln Park to feature recreation, public art, new renderings show
Column: In Long Beach history, a quixotic quest for tourists, from a whale to the Queen
