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Giant Duck Departs From Point State Park

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The giant duck swam away from Point State Park Monday morning.

In its time here, the duck drew people from all over as more than a million visitors came to see it.

The attraction pumped millions into the economy and the interest in the Rubber Duck Project far exceeded the expectations of the Cultural Trust.

The city's most popular visitor spent its last night at Point State Park on Sunday. As the sun rose Monday morning, a small crowd gathered to snap some last-minute pictures.

Eileen O'Hara squeaked in her first visit just before the rubber ducky's departure.

"Sad to see it go, but I think it will have another life. I think it will spread its joy all over the place. I hope it will have a great future and I know it took a lot of work and a lot of people to get it here," O'Hara said.

Paul Organisak is the man who got the 40-foot duck here in Pittsburgh. His idea to bring the duck here came after he saw it in Sydney, Australia.

However, the response the duck has gotten since its arrival on Sept. 27, exceeded the Pittsburgh Cultural Trusts expectations.

"I think it just blew all of our minds," Organisak said.

Today, is a bittersweet one for him, but even as he watched his eight-month project float away down the Ohio River, the magic of the duck and what it did for the city remains.

"All of the atmosphere down here, it brought the city together and for me, it changed the way we look at Pittsburgh in a very profound way," Organisak said.

Some city residents agree.

"This weekend, we had to stay home because I wasn't going to take the car out there was so much traffic. I was looking outside and thinking, this is fabulous," Iris Nahemow said.

While the traffic at The Point this morning for the duck's departure was noticeably less, the memories and all of the pictures remain.

Send us your photos with the Rubber Duck:

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