"Daffodil Metamorphosis" Coming Into View

Eric Richardson [Flickr]

Michael Tansey's 1996 "Daffodil Metamorphosis" in its new home on Cherry street, adjacent to the 110 freeway.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Four years after it was relocated from the corner of Figueroa and Olympic, Michael Tansey's 1996 "Daffodil Metamorphosis" has once again come into view.

Well, at least it has if you squint.

The sculpture, which converted one of Los Angeles' old air raid sirens into a blooming daffodil, was moved to the very edge of the 110 freeway in December of 2005 to make way for construction of L.A. Live. It was placed along Cherry street, which has spent much of the last four years closed off due to construction.

With the reopening of Cherry and the opening of the accessway that runs between the J.W. Marriott's ballrooms and the west parking garage, sight lines to the sculpture have just recently been restored.

While construction trailers still surround the base of the work, a true view of its permanent condition should come within the next few months as work on the hotel and condo tower wraps up. It remains to be seen whether the daffodil's new home will make for a clever surprise on the far edge of L.A. Live or whether the spot just provided a convenient place to dump a piece of unwanted public art.