Update: We’re hearing reports Monday morning that the monolith is gone. Such things are not long for this cruel world.
Finally, Wisconsin has a monolith of its own.
A silver obelisk similar to those that have been discovered from Utah to Romania was placed in the rolling prairie of County Grounds Park in Wauwatosa sometime this weekend.
The structure, on the crest of a hill next to one of the park’s many trails, is about 8 or 9 feet tall, and about a foot wide on each of its four sides. It appeared to be made of thick cardboard or plywood over a wood frame, and painted a metallic silver and is visible from Discovery Parkway.
The lack of snow on its top suggested the monolith had not been in place during the snowfall overnight Friday, and there were relatively few footprints around its base late Sunday morning. Yellow snow surrounding it suggested it had also captured the attention of a few dogs.
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The first such monolith was discovered in November in the wilds of remote San Juan County, Utah, by wildlife officials searching for bighorn sheep. Unlike the Tosa monolith, it was three-sided and made of polished stainless steel. It quickly became a viral sensation but was removed 10 days later, just before another metallic obelisk was discovered on a plateau overlooking the town of Piatra Neamt, Romania.
Since then, the objects have been popping up around the world, but we’ve been unable to find any reports of monoliths in Wisconsin. Are they the work of aliens planting surveillance devices or pandemic-bored pranksters with a public-art bent? Who could say?
If you know who dropped the monolith in Tosa, let us know at cdrosner@milwaukeemag.com so we can get to the bottom of this mystery.
Til then, we’re waiting for the inevitable Milwaukee-themed modification of this public art…
Taking bets on how long till someone puts a 'I closed Wolskis' sticker on it https://t.co/BcqbfEMUf5
— half whiskey half stuffing and half rage (@PremiumFrye) January 3, 2021
