F. Scott Fitzgerald statue stolen from outside former St. Paul Academy

For 19 years, a bronze and copper statue of a young novelist and essayist F. Scott Fitzgerald greeted visitors to 25 N. Dale St. in St. Paul.

Now it’s missing.

Sometime between Monday and Friday of last week, somebody swiped the statue from outside the former St. Paul Academy, where Fitzgerald attended classes from 1908 to 1911. As a student, he published some of his first short stories and plays in the school magazine.

The school has since moved. The Dale Street building is now called the Academy Professional Building and is home to a law firm.

The seated statue of the St. Paul native and author of “The Great Gatsby,” in a jacket with books on his lap, is believed to have been “cut free” and taken away, according to St. Paul police.

In 2006, building owner Ed Conley commissioned local artist Aaron Dysart to create the statue depicting Fitzgerald as a teenager. The bronze, which cost in the low $20,000s to make, became a neighborhood attraction, Conley said.

People used to put Twins and Vikings shirts on the statue and adorn it with hats during Christmas time, he said. The statue was also a frequent stop of walking tours, with people often posing for photos with it.

“It became a bigger deal than I ever thought it would,” Conley said. “It’s a disappointing loss for the community.”

No video captured the heist, but the criminals who did it “knew what they were doing,” Conley said. They apparently used a torch to free the statue, which weighed a couple hundred pounds. In their haste, part of the figure’s right hand was left behind, Conley said.

Conley feared somebody would take it someday, but he also hoped it would be around for the next 100 years.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Sgt. Toy Vixayvong of the St. Paul Police Department. It’s not something you can just lift up” and cart away, he added.

Though the 2006 statue does not live at St. Paul Academy’s current campuses on Randolph and Goodrich avenues, “we were distressed to hear of its disappearance,” said Ami Berger, the private school’s director of communications. “F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most revered figures in the long history of SPA, and we are hoping for the statue’s return to its proper place.”

No arrests have been made. It is not clear how many suspects may have been involved. A spokeswoman for Mayor Melvin Carter’s office said the theft was not related to thefts of copper wire affecting streetlights and phone service in the city.

Anybody with information or who recalls seeing suspicious activity is asked to call 651-291-1111.

The call for the public’s help comes as the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library will host a performance and talk on “The Great Gatsby” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the George Latimer Central Library, 90 W. 4th St. in St. Paul.

The event is part of a series of programs celebrating the 100th anniversary of Fitzgerald’s most enduring novel.