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Rubber Duck Display Always Meant To Be Temporary Installation

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- For the past few weeks, the fountain at Point State Park has had some major competition from that big, yellow duck.

The Rubber Duck fans have come by land, they have come by water, and of course, by bridge.

Paul Organisak, of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, says the towering bath toy has lured more than a million visitors.

"I've coined a new term called 'rubber duck necking,'" Organisak says.

Fans had hoped to keep the duck, but in the end, no such luck.

"We still have this weekend to go," said Organisak. "The visitation will stop on Sunday night at 11 o'clock, and the duck will depart after that."

While disappointed to see it go, duck fans are willing to share.

"It's sad to see it go, but it should be shared with other cities," said one person.

"I'm really excited that we had it for so long, and let somebody else have it for a while," added another.

Even a petition drive failed to keep it here. Why?

"The artist has always intended it to be a temporary installation," says Organisak. "Part of its power is in a concentrated period of time. I always say you never want to be the last person to leave a party. We don't want the duck to sort of be here and overextend its stay."

Though our feathered friend will soon be ducking out, we can take solace from one fact.

"We had it first. And nobody can take that away from us, can they?" says Raquel Grizzle, of Pittsburgh.

No, they can't! And so, we say good luck, duck, and please don't be a stranger.

RELATED LINKS:
More Rubber Duck Stories
More Reports by Dave Crawley

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