F. Scott Fitzgerald statue stolen from outside site of the novelist's former school

Posted By: Staff
February 12, 2025 @ 5:42 pm
ABC National

Saint Paul Police Department

(MINNESOTA) — A statue of famed novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald was stolen from outside a Minnesota building where he once attended school, police said.

The statue, which had been located outside the Academy Professional Building in Saint Paul, depicted a young Fitzgerald seated with a couple of books in his lap.

Now all that remains of the statue of “The Great Gatsby” author is part of his right hand.

Police said the statue is believed to have been cut free. Its owner, Ed Conley, told ABC Twin Cities affiliate KSTP a cutting torch is believed to have been used to free the statue. The bolts were also cut, he said.

“Disappointed for sure,” Conley, the founder of the real estate company CCI Properties, told the station.

The statue, which was located on the steps to the Academy Professional Building, was last known to be there on Feb. 3 and was reported missing four days later, police said.

The building was once home to the St. Paul Academy, which Fitzgerald attended from 1908 to 1911 as a teen. Conley said Fitzgerald wrote for the school paper and participated in plays while he attended the school.

He commissioned local artist Aaron Dysart to make the statue of the author nearly 20 years ago when he bought the building, which now houses office spaces.

“It was really fun to just highlight that history,” Conley told KSTP.

The statue of the author has been a fixture on various tours in the city, Conley said.

It would cost around $40,000 to replace the bronze statue, Conley told KSTP, estimating the metal could fetch several hundred dollars at a scrap yard.

Conley told KSTP he hopes to “resurrect” the statue and “bring it back to the community and have people enjoy it again.”

The investigation into the theft remains ongoing and there are no updates on any suspects or arrests, a Saint Paul Police Department spokesperson told ABC News on Wednesday.

Police asked anyone with information or who “recalls seeing suspicious activity” outside the building between Feb. 3 and 7 to call 651-291-1111.