LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Abraham Lincoln is getting his top hat back.
Sculptor Tamina Karem, of the Ed Hamilton Studio in Phoenix Hill, is recreating the iconic bronze hat that was ripped from the Waterfront Park statue back in early December 2023.
Right now, the prototype replacement is made of clay, but soon it will become a heavy bronze replica of the one that was torn from the bolts.
Louisville's famed sculptor Ed Hamilton created the Lincoln statue at the park, and had asked Karem to help in recreating the hat.
News of the theft went viral.
There were no cameras focused on the Lincoln statue, so there is no video of the theft. The original top hat has not been found and what happened to it remains a mystery.
The Lincoln statue was installed in the park in 2009 as a part of the Lincoln Bicentennial. The statue features Lincoln sitting down while holding a law book in his hand. The original bronze hat sat next to him.
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